The Falstaff bathroom

By Lew Cady

If you want to see one of the finest collections of Falstaff breweriana ever assembled, head for the basement bathroom in the Clous house in Aurora, CO.

In addition to the expected Falstaff cans, bottles, glassware, signs and trays, youâll encounter Falstaff golf tees, Falstaff sheet music, a Falstaff tape measure, Falstaff candlestick holders-even a Falstaff hour glass. The Falstaff toilet seat is fake.

Nick Clous, a 56-year-old who works for a paper company, explained: "There are 600-plus items in the room and all but one of them is a genuine Falstaff collectible. I thought a Falstaff toilet seat would be a nice touch, but since I couldnât find one, I made it out of a spare sign I had."

According to Clous, many people have nice collections of Falstaff stuff, "but there are only two of Îem in Colorado-mine and Jim Pattersonâs."

Actually, this is Clousâ second Falstaff collection. "I grew up in Omaha," he explained, "near one of Falstaffâs breweries. I have pleasant memories of going to the beautiful hospitality room they had there. Went all the time. Got to know their drivers. That was back in the sixties and seventies."

Then, in 1982, his job moved him to Denver. Clous brought his collection with him. Colorado breweriana collectors kidded him about it. Falstaff? How odd. The kidding was all in good fun, but it led to Clousâs selling off his Falstaff items at local flea markets.

Time passed and Clous missed his stuff. So, a couple of years ago, he started again, gathering all the Falstaff items he could find. He worked the flea markets. He checked out collectables shows. He went to meetings of the local chapter of the American Breweriana Association.

And he put all his Falstaff stuff in the bathroom because he liked having it all in one place and because, as he said, "It beat painting the walls."

Besides hiding walls in need of paint, thereâs another reason to collect Falstaff. "You can find it cheap. Probably the most expensive item in my Falstaff room cost me $60 or $70."

Whatâs next for the bathroom? "Iâm basically out of space in there," said Clous. "So from here on in, Iâm looking for Falstaff stuff that is both cheap-and small."

Falstaff scrubbing bubbles?