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.// “The issue isn’t that young people are universally unconcerned about the pandemic; it’s that they realize it’s not the only—or even the greatest—risk they face.” Millennials are once again seen as a potential scapegoat for a crisis as young people seek connection while being encouraged to help reopening economies. They might also shoulder the blame if things go wrong.
LOOK.// Photographer Tyler Mitchell gets profiled in The New York Times, where he talks about his efforts to capture the visuals and ideas of Black American life.
DRINK.// Fullsteam’s Southern Basil Farmhouse Ale
This beer has won awards, and it's one of the most coveted seasonals this North Carolina brewery releases each year—but most important, it's a reminder of the return of summer. Given that this beer is made using real basil, the flavor changes ever so slightly throughout the hottest days of the year, as the herb does, too. It's fun to try and spot the nuance, but even better as a reward for sweating through another day.
READ.// “Imagine being so angry. Imagine being so angry that you do something that wipes out generations of Black folks who were minding their own business. Imagine growing up a Black Oklahoman and hearing about the horrors of the massacre from the old heads, and not learning about it in school. Imagine white supremacy and our educational system forming like Voltron to orchestrate the greatest trick bag in American history. Imagine watching Watchmen, Googling ‘Tulsa Race Riot,’ and thinking Whoa, what the fuck? Why have I never heard about this?” Evan F. Moore shares the personal trek of visiting family land in Oklahoma for the first time, while also shining a light on an overlooked period of American history, in a recent Chicago Reader feature.
LOOK.// Like many city-dwellers during the lockdown, I am starved for nature. Paul Smith's photographs of red sprites are surreal, and a worthy, temporary salve for an apartment-quarantined life.
DRINK.// HenHouse Brewing Company’s Pocket Change Scottish Ale
I'm not sure where a Scottish Ale ends and a Bitter starts, but honestly who fucking cares. This low-ABV Scottish Ale manages to be malty yet crisp, with caramel and toasty notes. I generally wouldn't reach for a Scottish Ale in the middle of a hot-ass Chicago summer, but sometimes you need to trust that friend who hands you a beer and says, “Just drink it.”
READ.// “‘You know, without doubt, every group of people needs a distraction. For example there's arak in Turkey and Lebanon. We wish for beer to become the popular drink in Egypt.’ Isma'il Hafiz to Gamal Abdel Nasser, January 3, 1960.” As I began research for an article, Kate Bernot generously loaned me this book on the history of Egypt's Stella beer. Omar Foda writes on how the ubiquitous beer became a cultural zeitgeist and a part of Egyptian identity in this capstone project, which thoroughly examines the technological and social developments of Stella and other beer production in the Middle East from the 1880s to 2003. Between the academic chapters are reproductions of vintage advertisements that are not to be missed.
LOOK.// Free online gallery experiences are becoming more common as public institutions such as museums remain closed during COVID-19 lockdowns. Eben Haines and Delaney Dameron created the Shelter In Place Gallery (SIP), which allows artists to continue to exhibit their work under one condition. The whole gallery is actually a scaled model—one inch of the artist’s work equals one foot. Documenting the miniature installations is a work of art on its own.
DRINK.// Revolution Brewing’s Café Deth Barrel-Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout
Revolution Brewing's Café Deth is a 14.8% barrel-aged Oatmeal Imperial Stout with coffee ... that I accidentally shotgunned. Well, the shotgunning part was intentional, due to mistakenly piercing the can while opening a care package from Jim Plachy containing a selection of Chicago's finest. Of all the beers I could have nicked, the blade landed on this one. I wasn't planning on drinking the day that package arrived, but after quickly finishing this beer, I continued onto my afternoon routine—which included a 60-minute plyometric cardio circuit workout.
Curated by The GBH Collective
