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.
READ. // “By about 2010, the fancy burger had become all but ubiquitous, so thoroughly fetishized and aestheticized that its latter-day accoutrements veered perilously close to punch line territory.” I remember making my way to a then-barren Avondale neighborhood to eat at a bar I'd heard of called Kuma's. It was before the mini-franchise started, and it was before lines out the front door. Back then, it was impressive—the fancy names and wacky toppings. But now, similar to my early days of beer when I was obsessed with American hops, I instead find joy in the subtleties of a locally-made Pilsner, and a straightforward, thin, diner-style burger.
LOOK. // Brenda Ann Kenneally's portraits of people teetering on the edge of poverty are haunting and raw.
DRINK. // Off Color Brewing’s Known Gnome
Post-Christmas winter is my favorite drinking season. Stouts, Porters, and Brown Ales aren't the easiest to find, but they’re worth navigating treacherous sidewalks for the perfect libation when the weather is at its coldest and darkest. Off Color's Known Gnome is ideal for such nights. Thick with chocolate and tobacco notes, this Porter shelters you from the cold floors of a drafty apartment.
READ. // "It was Abuela’s carelessness of movement while making tortillas that I wanted, the not trying, the unimpeachable self-knowledge that lives in the body, in the muscles." In his vivid essay for Food & Wine, John Paul Brammer writes about attempts to recreate his grandmother's recipe for flour tortillas, and covers questions of Chicano identity, "authentic" food, and family inheritance along the way.
LOOK. // Illustrator Malika Favre is one of my favorites, and her bold, graphic style is as appealing as candy. For the NSFW-inclined, her Kama Sutra alphabet—sexy, surprising, more than a little eyebrow-raising—is particularly worth admiring.
DRINK. // Live Oak Brewing Company's HefeWeizen
I just visited Austin for the first time, and so it's fitting that I also had my first can of Live Oak's HefeWeizen while on Texas soil (at Jester King, a few minutes after some spirited goat-greeting, as it so happens). Credit goes to Dave Riddile for introducing me to what is, according to RateBeer, the number-two Hefe in the world. It wasn't hot that day (in fact, I was wearing my winter coat), but the beer's fluffy bounce and jubilant esters were still plenty sunny.
READ.// I'm fascinated by the stories of those small, DIY music venues that inexplicably pull in huge acts to play their worn stages. This is the story of The Nick in Birmingham, one such dive that’s great “because the fucking Nick rocks and it has for 37 years.”
LOOK.// Allow me to drop a little Fort Worth culture on y’all real quick. From her work documenting the style of her close friend Leon Bridges to beautifully styled shots in the dessert that evoke a sense of longing, Rambo is a favorite Instagram follow of mine and a damn fine person to boot.
DRINK.// Jester King/The Kernel’s Colonel Toby
With a recent home-cooked meal I decided to revisit this hoppy Farmhouse Ale with the necessary cheese course. (You don't always have a cheese course? Get on my level.) Citrus rind bitterness and a touch of funk along with a body that’s incredibly light put this beer into the "crispy" category. It also doesn't hurt that, at 3.2% ABV, I can down the whole 750ml bottle, no problem.
Curated by The GBH Collective
