This is the artistic and intellectual inspiration that has burrowed its way into the mind of the GBH collective this month. Great reads, stunning images, and beers that chart new territory. Drinking alone just got better, because now you're drinking with all of us.
Josh Cockrell's artwork for the Tired Hands / Jester King Cloudfeeder collaboration
READ. // "Beyoncé, Kanye, Rihanna, and Kendrick are like doomsday preppers, making calculated decisions for the future—they know they won’t be the cutest forever..." Rembert Browne is a goddamn delight, and one of our best culture writers, but this Drake essay is especially insightful. While His Peers Took Chances, Drake Doubled Down on Drake
LOOK. // I got to hang with the Droga5 gang a bit last week, which meant binging on a bunch of their fantastic work. This animal odd couples Android treatment will make you forget a cell phone company is advertising at you.
DRINK. // Creature Comforts Brewing Company's Bibo Pilsner.
Like a lot of great breweries at the moment, these Athens, GA gentlemen have been bitten by the Pilsner bug. Bibo is crisp, refreshing, and dry, with a light pepper bite at the end. Before May 7, it was draft-only, but now it comes in an unsurprisingly gorgeous can.
READ. // “We always wanted to be in the city,” Sean Arsenault of Philadelphia's Brewery ARS says, “because it’s got such a great beer-drinking culture.” There is a reason why Tomme Arthur, Vinnie Cilurzo, and Jean Van Roy all send beer to Philadelphia, a city far, far away from these brewers' home markets. Drinking Tradition Fuels Brewing Growth in Philadelphia
LOOK. // Another incredible part of the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia was seeing Jester King, both the beers and the folks from there, all over the city. And a significant part of what makes their beers so compelling is the artwork on each bottle. It's Josh Cockrell, their in-house artist, who creates the characters and the imagery behind each beer.
DRINK. // The Rare Barrel's Ensorcelled.
The World Beer Cup was also held in Philadelphia this year, and it wasn't surprising to see Jay, Alex, and Brad from The Rare Barrel among the winners list for American-Style Sour Ale. These dudes took home a silver medal for Ensorcelled, a dark sour beer aged in oak barrels with raspberries. Jammy and tart, the tannins from the oak and the pucker from the lacto convalesce with the fruit and malt sweetness on the mouth for an incredible drinking experience.
READ. // “We don’t sell Pils.” Back in 1983 it took a certain amount of courage to open a beer bar in Bruges and utter that phrase. This short but sweet interview with Daisy Claeys, owner of legendary Bruges beer bar T' Brugs Beertje from Roger Protz is a great little window in Belgium's quirky, historic beer culture. Daisy Claeys: 30 beer years in Bruges
LOOK. // I'm pretty jet lagged after arriving back from the States yesterday, and I managed to lose quite a bit of time staring tiredly into these beautifully hypnotic GIFs from duo 25th Century.
DRINK. // Melvin Brewing Company's Asterisk Double IPA.
I worked my way through two pours of this in quick succession before it was pointed out to me that this beer was 10%. Wave after wave of tropical and citrus fruit aromas not only conceal the high ABV but also provide an intensely gratifying drinking experience. No wonder the Coloradoans I was hanging with called this brewery "the best thing to ever come out of Wyoming."
READ. // "Van Gogh didn’t have to shill for Audible.com to pissed-off fans of his art." There's a reason I didn't take GBH in the cult-of-personality route and decided to focus on doing work with real value based on skills I possessed instead. Ironically, we still get the same criticisms. This piece is painfully true. Get rich or Die Vlogging: The Sad Economics of Internet Fame
LOOK. // Italian architect and self-described "photomanipulator" takes the collaged image to a whole new level.
DRINK. // Temperance Beer Co.'s Greenwood Beach Pineapple Golden Ale.
A burst of unmistakable fruit on the nose, a juicy texture and flavor throughout, and then a semi-dry finish with an underlying breadiness. It's how Evanston, Illinois marks the beginning of the beach season—even if you still need a hoodie.
Curated by The GBH Collective
