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.// “Like Four Loko, MoviePass and other fads that were too good to be true, the reign of Jeremy Renner’s app had to come to an end eventually. It was strange, endearingly sincere and it will be missed.” I didn’t think I’d ever care about an app so much, but the rise and fall of the Jeremy Renner app is operatic, a story riddled with twists and turns, betrayal and sabotage. The story is well documented, but taken to another level by comedians Sarah Ramos and Caroline Goldfarb in their podcast, “The Renner Files.”
LOOK.// Everything about cxffeeblack is stunning—their design work, their music, their coffee. Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson started cxffeeblack with two simple questions: “What would happen if cxffeeculture loved people of color as much as it loved their cash crops? What if we cared for and celebrated single-origin people as much as we celebrated single-origin coffee?” Along with coffee, they make apparel and T-shirts that honor and celebrate Black people—from farmers in coffee-growing countries to the baristas behind the bar.
DRINK.// Whiner Beer Co.’s Le Tub
I always forget how good this beer is because it’s a staple in my home. Le Tub epitomizes Whiner’s approach—it’s fun, easy, and tasty. The brewery’s website says that you’ll want to bathe your mouth in this. Given how quickly I chugged this, I think they nailed that descriptor.
READ.// “Newspapers have told their customers over and over that they deserve their money just because they exist, but have done nothing to earn that money. And now they want sympathy subscriptions, which is not how subscriptions work.” Lyz Lenz's conversation with former newspaper reporter Allison Hantschel is a must-read for anyone who's wondered how the newspaper industry broke—and whether there’s any way to fix it.
LOOK.// Fans of color field painters (me!) might enjoy the architecturally precise and pigment-rich paintings of Giorgio Pasqualetti, an Italian artist who lives in Barcelona, Spain. Like watching Disney’s “Fantasia” did for me as a kid, Pasqualetti’s abstract paintings inspire me to daydream about moods, stories, and landscapes.
DRINK.// Grist House Craft Brewery’s Continental Breakfast Coffee Porter
Pittsburgh breweries turn out some of the best coffee beers in the country. The most recent example, for me, is Grist House Craft Brewery's Continental Breakfast Coffee Milk Porter, brewed with Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Bali Blue Moon, and Indiana Mysore beans. The coffee retains its bright, berry notes; the roast provides a soothing base; the lactose smooths it all out. Not one drop of this beer feels out of place.
READ.// “In the United States, being poor and Black makes you more likely to get sick. Being poor, Black, and sick makes you more likely to die. Your proximity to death makes you disposable. Your disposability makes you more exploitable.” When I wrote Mutated Anxieties, my intent was to make a linear connection between injustices, from slavery to the violent racism within contemporary American culture. Those connections touch almost everything—law enforcement, our beloved craft beer industry, healthcare—especially in the age of COVID-19. Marc Lamont Hill’s newest book, We Still Here: Pandemic, Policing, Protest, and Possibility, looks to accomplish the same. In order for change to occur, it would be noble of us all to research and connect the dots of systemic oppression.
LOOK.// A few weeks ago, I popped into a Clubhouse group that was discussing writers and writers’ block. I cringe when I think about my writing process, or the steps I go through to get out of a block. My mind is like a loud mess, and I never come up with ideas in chronological order. 100% of the time, I’ll have an idea for the body prior to the introduction, and the ending shortly after writing the body. I can see something musical in this approach. One of the main reasons I’m such a hip hop fan, in particular on the production side, is because I love samples and sampling. I’m fascinated by how producers take from different genres of music and create timeless bangers. As told by one of my favorite producers, 9th Wonder, “Beat making is like putting clothes on—you have to know how to dress it right.” It’s similar to my writing approach, but way more interesting.
DRINK.// Weihenstephaner Weizenbock Vitus
I’ve finally given up on tagging one beer style as my favorite—mainly because my favorite changes every third Sunday of the month. For December, the Lemons have had eye twinkles for this Weizenbock.
Curated by The GBH Collective
