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.// “Jones found compelling backstories to the style choices she encountered. The camo jackets, for instance, had to do with the fact that it was Chicago in late 1969 and the Vietnam War was in full swing. ‘You have to remember, this is the south side of Chicago. A lot of people may not own leather jackets,’ she pointed out. ‘But a lot of people have access to these camo jackets because a male family member served, or they may have just come back from the Vietnam War themselves. It was also to signify the fact that the U.S. government and Chicago police were at war with them.’” As a child, my mother would tell me stories of when she and my father were Panthers in South Carolina. She’d tell me about the breakfast program they’d organize and protests on the campus of Winthrop University. She would also show me pictures of Panthers in other parts of the U.S. fighting for freedom. I can’t lie, I honestly thought they were all superheroes—mainly from the way they were dressed.
LOOK.// My best friend, Shep, just turned 41. When I called to wish him well on his birthday, we took a short stroll down memory lane. When we ended our call, I stayed on that road a little longer, only to find this Pac Div video. I remember when we both saw it for the first time, and hollered loudly in appreciation of how well the lyrics, images, and social events reflected our reality. It was almost like we made the song—it was that powerful for us. It makes me thankful that we’re still able to celebrate birthdays together, even in the face of so many adverse situations.
DRINK.// My homebrewed, 11% ABV Abbey Ale
I haven’t bought beer in a month and change. Lately, I’ve been logging more hours homebrewing, and have been hitting my mark as of late. My latest batch is an 11% Abbey Ale, and I can’t wait to work my way through it.
READ.// “I think when people look back on seminal moments in their lives, they tend to imagine all the complicated realities and What Ifs, and pause as they remember where the road forked, reflecting on why they went left as opposed to right.” From years ago, Kevin Van Valkenburg reflects on magic nights and the alchemy that writing can create.
LOOK.// Let Marguerite Turley bring some joy into your life, capturing a hermit thrush as the bird dances and snacks.
DRINK.// Springdale Beer Co.’s Be The Beacon IPA
While technically classified as a “Hazy IPA,” this beer brings balance unlike many other examples of the style. It’s not thick and overflowing with oniony aromas, and—to me at least—finds a middle ground, using contemporary hops to create a bursting flavor that’s balanced with a clean and near-clear appearance. It’s a well-tuned beer—fitting, considering it’s part of the brewery’s new musically inspired Hazy IPA series.
READ.// “If I could at least make a big batch of some sauce, some condiment, then it would do two kinds of work for me. I could meet my professional obligation, and I could use that sauce to bring some sunshine back into my life. I could lift myself, at least gastronomically, from the gray.” Padma Lakshmi’s memoir, Love, Loss, and What We Ate, explores the culinary salve that lifted her out of a dark place—a microcosm of what many of us have collectively experienced as we approach a full year in pandemic mode.
LOOK.// Misty Copeland and Olu Evans’ Upper West Side apartment, designed by Brigette Romanek, showcases a balance of understated and luxurious design that adds up to an impossibly chic impression. For each room that is ornamental and unattainable, another follows that could be the result of a YouTube DIY tutorial that went exceptionally well.
DRINK.// La Crosse Distilling Co.’s Spicy Sidecar Pilsner
Drinking seasonally is one thing. Drinking intentionally out-of-season is another. I uncharacteristically flagged down my server at La Crosse Distilling Co. for a Spicy Sidecar before I had finished my cocktail. The pickled Pilsner had rested in whiskey barrels that previously housed the restaurant’s habanero hot sauce, creating a complex harmony of dill, fermented pepper, and malt notes. The temperature outside was -12° Fahrenheit, and something about a beer with a flame on the label seemed irresistible. Though likely designed for flip-flop season, the beer’s warmth fortified my walk back to my hotel room.
Curated by The GBH Collective
