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.// “These are thoughts I never let leave my lips. These are thoughts most mothers don’t have.” Being a parent can be fuuuuucked up in a lot of ways. Feelings you’d never imagined feeling become commonplace. The person you once were disappears into a shroud of other person-ness: partially a new version of you and partially the being that you brought into the world who was not there before. Nothing I experienced after becoming a parent—and specifically, a mother—is terribly new or groundbreaking, but in her first novel, The Push, Ashley Audrain manages to vocalize the silent fears every parent faces and paint them as a terrifying reality from which nightmares emerge. I really shouldn’t have read this right before going to sleep, but when something grips you like this book did, it’s hard to stop until the final moments leave you in a cloud of breathless terror.
LOOK.// Today I learned that the limbo—or limbo dancing, specifically—hails from a Trinidadian funeral tradition that spread around the world due to the global slave trade beginning as early as the 16th century. Discovering that a seemingly innocuous child’s game was spawned from something a bit more macabre was a little surprising, but it probably shouldn’t have been. Either way, how low can you go? Probably not as low as Shemika Campbell, the “Queen of Limbo.” She’s the world record holder, and fair warning: Your entire body will probably ache just watching her smoothly glide below every bar in her path.
DRINK.// Societe Brewing Company’s Bulbous Flowers Hazy IPA
I’ll admit it: I like Hazy IPAs. Just because I like West Coast IPAs more doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a fluffy, citrusy, mouth-filling Hazy from time to time, especially on warm spring-turning-into-SoCal-summer nights. And if I’m going to reach for a Hazy, picking one from Societe—which I consider to be one of the top five breweries in San Diego, which is saying something—is a pretty safe choice. Plus, I like the word “bulbous.”
READ.// “What makes a pub special? Perhaps it’s the particular allure of pub fabric – glazed tiles and hand-painted signs, etched glass and mirrors, velvet and leather, Elizabethan timber or 1930s brick and stone. Maybe it’s the inherent cosiness, the space we choose to spend hours in conversation and laughter with good friends. Or the recent rise in their gastronomic appeal, and the promise of food and wine every bit as good as any restaurant. Or possibly that intangible, the vibe: a feeling, a sense of place, comfort and wellbeing that only the very best pubs possess.” Matt Curtis’ first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Pubs, was recently released by Hoxton Mini Press. Combining Matt’s recommendations and Orlando Gili’s wonderful photography, the book includes 52 pubs from around the city. Whether you’re looking for an excellently conditioned pint of cask Pale Ale or somewhere with an outdoor area to gather with friends, there’s something for everyone. It’s good to see so many of my favorites in here, too. Damnit, I miss them.
LOOK.// It will have been hard to miss the fanfare around Riz Ahmed this past week, after his remarkable performance in “Sound of Metal” led him to become the first Muslim actor nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars. The movie depicts a frightening battle of a drummer who loses his hearing and struggles to come to terms with his new life without his bandmate and partner. It’s the best movie I’ve watched so far this year. It also made me think of the near-decade I spent playing my guitar far too loud in small practice rooms and venues without any kind of ear protection and how stupid that was in hindsight. I hope I won’t be paying for it when I’m older.
DRINK.// Beak Brewery’s Déšť Pils
The sun is making its way back to London and with it comes my thirst for Lager. One of my standout breweries of the last year is Beak Brewery from Lewes, Sussex, and they absolutely smashed it with their first Lager release, Déšť. Déšť is a Czech Pilsner that delivers on everything I love about this style of beer, from the crisp body and sweet, biscuity malt to the noble-hop character produced by the Saaz and Hallertau Mittlefrüh hops. A second batch has been released with some tweaks to the brewing process and I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
READ.// “This print is a reminder to those in [and out] of our industry, that hospitality professionals are perfectly equipped to tell their own stories, develop their own businesses, and deserve to be compensated and amplified in the process.” David Mor and Kisira Hill’s online zine, Spill, recently launched with its inaugural digital issue, “Guest Check.” The beautifully designed zine is “made by and for the hospitality industry,” and shares a collection of stories, cocktails, and prose from contributors across the United States. Shared is a desktop version of this edition, but articles from Spill, including a powerful poem titled “Dear Hospitality” by Raeghn Draper, are also available online at ReadSpill.com.
LOOK.// Host of “The Daily Show” Trevor Noah speaks on the continuous police brutality in America in a candid Twitter video. He calls attention to the “bad apple” analogy and how the apple tree itself may have some rotten roots.
DRINK.// Hill Farmstead Brewery’s Mary German-Style Pilsner
I have only had Hill Farmstead in three circumstances: at Manhattan Pizza & Pub in Burlington, Vermont; at Armsby Abbey in Worcester, Massachusetts; and whenever my friend shares it with me. Thankfully, to celebrate our second vaccinations, that friend and I went to Armsby Abbey to enjoy this Pilsner. Poured from a Czech side-pull tap, it will be a beer I never forget.
Curated by The GBH Collective
