These are the words, images, and beers that inspired the GBH collective this week. Drinking alone just got better, because now you're drinking with all of us.
a scene from the New York City Ballet's "The Times Are Racing
READ. // Last week I wrote about how Budweiser is still aiming at a middle that isn't there anymore in America. For another take with some serious historical analysis (and some correcting of Bud's revisionist history) read this piece from Maria Godoy on NPR.
LOOK. // Photographer Levon Bliss blends hundreds, sometimes thousands of individual images shot through microscope lenses to reveal the other-worldly physical structures of insects. Then he prints them larger than life.
DRINK. // Angry Orchard Walden Hallow
We hosted Angry Orchard's cidermaker, Ryan Burk, in the studio this week for a CiderCon celebration. We tasted through many of his natural fermentation and barrel-aged ciders from the operation up in the Hudson Valley. Most of those ciders are such small runs that the bottles only show up at special events for now, but the approach is having an influence on the larger operation. This past year, Angry Orchard put their first wild-inspired cider onto the national market with Walden Hallow (made at their Cincinnati headquarters), which evokes the soft but sharp and tannic qualities of the Newtown Pippin and Golden Russet apples, among other New York State varieties used.
READ. // "Our ape ancestors started eating fermented fruits on the forest floor, and that made all the difference. We’re pre-adapted for consuming alcohol." National Geographic takes an in-depth look at our love affair with booze, and how—and why—it might've started in the first place.
LOOK. // John Storz and his husky, Wolfgang, have been bouncing around the country, capturing their experiences as they go. The result is a tumblr entitled John & Wolf — emphasis on Wolf — featuring some of the most idyllic landscapes our country has to offer.
DRINK. // Crooked Stave Batch #200 Wild Ale
Glory, glory. Crooked Stave opens up distribution in Ohio next week. But last night, while celebrating National Pizza Day with a delicious pie, I got a sneak peak of what they'll be launching with statewide, including this limited release. Ohioans are in for a real treat.
READ. // “Is weed Trump? Weed could be Trump.” So many CEOs are careful with their wordplay, but I've always admired Craft Brew Alliance's Andy Thomas for his earnestness and creativity, especially when talking about the state of the beer industry.
LOOK. // Whether it's art or beer or the written word, there's an innate human desire to simply create something beautiful with whatever talents we may have. The New York City Ballet combines dance with the technical challenge of filming it all in one take, all inside a NYC subway station.
DRINK. // Ballast Point Red Velvet Cake.
It's a stout. That's clear? But it's made with beets. So it's red? OK. I'll play along. Like so many adjunct-forward beers coming out of Ballast Point these days, you may be perfectly happy to take it or leave it, middle ground be damned. All I'm saying is there are worse beers than a "golden oatmeal stout" that offers up flavors of chocolate and vanilla while being fun to look at.
Curated by The GBH Collective
