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.// “TIME: You once said that the bout with vertigo and nausea you had in the summer of 1968 was not an inappropriate response to that period. What’s an appropriate response to 2020? Didion: Vertigo and nausea sound right.” The prolific Joan Didion recently released a new essay collection, Let Me Tell You What I Mean, and in the press tour she spoke with Time Magazine. The format of that piece—“‘My Wine Bills Have Gone Down.’ How Joan Didion Is Weathering the Pandemic”—is an impressively quick and witty Q&A. I didn’t realize you could learn so much about a person through an exchange of one-sentence answers.
LOOK.// Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus, which debuted at London’s Tate Modern last year, is a (literally) monumental work. The fountain also becomes a key setting in FKA twigs’ new music video with Headie One and Fred again.. The video is directed by twigs and Emmanuel Adjei (who also co-directed Beyoncé’s “Black Is King”), and is a must-watch.
DRINK.// Green Bench Brewing Co.’s Sunshine City IPA
On a very snowy February 1st, I cracked into some Sunshine City. This IPA from Green Bench Brewing Co. was the first beer I had had in 31 days. It was full of the tropical tastes and aromas of Florida, and warmed my bones in Massachusetts.
READ.// “On April 16, 2020, Drew Robinson woke up, spread peanut butter on a cinnamon-raisin bagel, pulsed a green smoothie, sat at his kitchen table and finished writing a note that would explain to his family and friends why he had decided to end his life.” Take your time with this story of literal survival (content warning for suicide and self-harm), and the start of a baseball player’s unexpected next chapter.
LOOK.// Apple commissioned more than 30 Black photographers to capture and share their hometowns. Each photo shows how these places—and their communities—shine.
DRINK.// Sugar Creek Brewing Company’s Hazy Creek
A New England-style IPA that’s “just” 6.25% ABV? Such traits don’t always go together these days, and the restraint in this beer’s alcohol content makes it a delightful slow-sipper. Bonus: You can taste the “beer” behind the “juice.” Not every IPA has to be a booze bomb, even if so many are made to be lately. I’ll take another of these, please.
READ.// “She has a proudness about her that refuses to grow small, but if it was only that, I might not have begun to fear for her. It’s her curiosity in her own power, its reach and its limit, that frightens me. Though maybe the truth is that when I am not afraid for her, I envy her.” Novelist Nicole Krauss is known for her sprawling yet surgical approach to discussing universal human issues. In To Be a Man, her first collection of short stories, she masterfully weaves together accounts ranging from adolescent schoolgirls living abroad to the tension between dancers and how they work together while maintaining their individuality. Each story is its own bite-sized novel, and I’m enjoying the feast.
LOOK.// When you’re a parent of a young child, it’s inevitable to wayyyy overanalyze their interests. If they pick up a paintbrush, visions of acclaimed gallery shows in New York spring to mind. A toddler kicking a ball will obviously be the next soccer superstar, and the slightest interest in what they’re wearing today means a future as a fashion icon is all but guaranteed. I’ll admit I’ve entertained numerous daydreams of my kid’s future musical career, and based off his enthusiasm for music videos, I’m basically positive he’s going to be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show one day. His most recent video repeat is Tina Turner’s performance of “Proud Mary”—I dare you to watch it and not dance. Can’t be done! Yup, the kid’s got taste. Time will tell if he’s got rhythm, too.
DRINK.// Burgeon Beer Company’s Keep it Nelson IPA
As much as I love a good IPA with a whole smattering of different hops for a complex drinking experience, there’s beauty in single-hop simplicity. Burgeon Beer Company’s “Keep it” series highlights one hop per release, and right now it’s Nelson. Keep It Nelson is a beautiful expression of the New Zealand hop varietal, with plenty of fruity and tropical notes throughout. At 6.5%, it’s the Goldilocks of IPAs—not too small, not too big, but ahhhh. Just right.
Curated by The GBH Collective
