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.// “At times, I have felt this tendency [to trash fruitcake] to be indicative of the greater problem with a food media that is quick to cast aspersions on a certain dish and build an imagined consensus without proper input from any voices who may dissent. Whose tastebuds are the arbiters against which everyone else’s should be measured?” In “How—and Why—Did Fruitcake Become a Slur?” one of the country’s best food writers, Mayukh Sen, explores the evolution of both the dish and the word “fruitcake” from a delicacy into an insult, and the complex role both played in his life growing up as a queer Bengali boy. This evocative piece is from a few years back, but rings truer than ever today, as we collectively reexamine the power of the language we give to things; the links between what we consume and how we see ourselves and our communities, and how others perceive the same; and the meaning of the holidays in a year where we are simultaneously more alienated and deeply interconnected than ever before.
LOOK.// Call me a YouTube workout hipster—I’ve been a home-fitness devotee for nearly a decade, yet even I was getting sick of it in quarantine, with my neighborhood gym shuttered. That is, until I rediscovered Raneir Pollard: a fabulous fitness instructor and Equinox trainer who has been hosting thrice-weekly Instagram Live workouts on his channel (uploaded later to YouTube) through the entirety of the shutdown. He is also a stand-up comedian, and his radiant positivity—interspersed with intense twerking and dance breaks—manages to both wear me out and pick me up every week.
DRINK.// Reuben’s Brews’ Stone the Crows
This special-edition blend of the Three Ryes Men Barleywine and BBIS (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout), aged a second time in bourbon barrels, is mind-meltingly delicious and perfectly warming for cold, quarantined nights. It’s slightly spicy and somewhat herbal, richly layered with malt flavor, and also features a mild, roasty bitterness alongside a caramel, boozy sweetness. If I had the supply, I would drink this every day until stay-at-home orders are lifted.
READ.// “In what Jayaraman terms ‘maskual harassment,’ the phenomenon’s underlying power imbalance is no different from sexual harassment, she said, when workers are reliant on customers’ tips. Demanding a service worker to take her mask off, she argued, is asking her to ‘subject herself to the virus and the possibility of death — for the sexual pleasure of customers, all because she doesn’t get paid a minimum wage.’” Restaurant workers are struggling. Order takeout. Call the restaurant directly vs. delivery apps. Be patient. And tip well. We’ve all heard this again and again, but a recent NPR report reminded me that, much like *gestures wildly at everything*, not everyone’s getting the message. A new study from UC Berkeley found that 80% of restaurant industry workers have seen a decline in tips, 60% say they’re reluctant to enforce social distancing rules on customers from whom they need tips, and 40% say they’ve faced increased sexual harassment from customers. You can listen to the accompanying broadcast for more information and even read the original report.
LOOK.// The National Science Foundation just released the clearest image of a sunspot ever. NSF researchers tell us that, “The streaky appearance of hot and cool gas spidering out from the darker center is the result of sculpting by a convergence of intense magnetic fields and hot gasses boiling up from below,” though my astronomer sister tells me that it could also be the eye of Sauron. The sunspot is 10,000 miles wide, so Earth could fit inside it with room to spare. I might have argued that the human race needn’t seek out yet another dark swirling vortex that could swallow up our entire world in an instant, but the image is rather stunning.
DRINK.// Mountains Walking Brewery’s Shane Center Vienna Lager
I’d never been one to mail friends “yeast samples,” but Washington’s amazing, fresh-hop beers coaxed me out of my shell this year. In turn, GBH’s own Kate Bernot (the legend herself) generously introduced me to Shane Center, a delicious, malt-forward Vienna Lager from Montana’s Mountains Walking Brewery. It’s been a while—read: way too long—since I last enjoyed a beer in Vienna, but at first sip I imagined myself holding a foamy Maß at Siebensternbräu, a classy brewpub near the city center. Considering my mind went there instead of the €1 vending machine beers from my exchange student dormitory, I’d say this beer gets high marks.
READ.// “Take that scribbled sign. Perhaps it belonged to a store that eventually ended up reopening. Or maybe it belonged to one that closed for good. ‘That one handmade sign may tell a story of hope,’ Hartig said. ‘Maybe it will tell a story of resilience. It’ll certainly tell an economic story.’” I recently came upon this New Yorker story about how museum curators are collecting present-day artifacts to help tell the story of this pandemic. What story will we tell of this time 20 years from now? Hell if I know, but I’m holding on to it being a story of resilience, obviously not without immense tragedy, that causes us to become better for future generations.
LOOK.// This is a Look but also a Listen. “Sound of Metal” is a new film available on Amazon Prime that explores the soundscape of a newly deaf drummer, played brilliantly by Riz Ahmed. Throughout the film, which features exceptional 35mm viewpoints, the sound slides between what most people experience every day and the aural world of the main character. It’s an inspirational use of sound design to put the viewer into someone else’s shoes—I really can’t recommend it enough.
DRINK.// Yonder’s Dry Cider
I’ve spoken of Yonder on this fine website before, but during a recent Instagram Live event with my brewery alongside their founder, Caitlin Braam, I revisited this exceptional and easily accessed dry cider. Made with both culinary apples and traditional cider apples that are prevalent in the orchards surrounding the cidery’s Wenatchee, Washington facility, this cider features a delicate expression of fruit balanced by a light grip of tannin and thoughtful acidity. Perfect for drinking in the sunshine … or on your couch during a virtual chat.
Curated by The GBH Collective
