We’re voracious consumers of culture. And each week, a member of our team shares the words, images, and beers that inspired them.

READ.// “WOW! That was PHANTASMAGORICAL!” A collection of short science fiction comics, Olivier Schrauwen’s “Parallel Lives” takes this genre into surprisingly funny and unexpected territory. These six stories, ranging from alien abductions to intergalactic space travel and decoded messages, are all written in the same humorous, deadpan delivery. And they look good, too: Schrauwen’s concepts for the future are amazingly minimal, with a gorgeous rainbow sorbet color palette and very, very round adult-baby faces. I am not normally a science fiction reader or a comics fan, but it was really exciting to read stories that felt like an episode of “Black Mirror”—except more absurdist daydream than dystopian nightmare.

LOOK.// At first glance, Trey Abdella’s paintings look like garden-variety (if impressive) hyperrealism. But after a moment, your eyes focus and the canvases reveal more unusual markings and techniques. Soft skin on close inspection looks like pale mold pockets, bits of synthetic (real?) hair are glued directly to the canvas, reflections in glass look like something out of a horror movie. These massive paintings are almost like film stills, moments capturing the shift in a story where it suddenly becomes much darker. While past examples of hyperrealism often look more like pretty still lifes or careful nature scenes, Abdella is here to show you a more twisted side of the genre.

DRINK.// Lo Rez Brewing’s Mosaic Voxel American Saison Ale
I’ve been trying to preserve the essence of summer just a little bit longer now that it’s getting colder. A Saison reliably brings me back to sunny, hot afternoons that slowly fade into long, warm evenings. The first sip of this beer was like floating on soap bubbles, cut with sweetness and the zest of a Meyer lemon. The hopping made this beer juicy, and it didn’t offer that dry, horse-blanket character you can get in some Saisons, but I’m not complaining. At 6.2%, with a clean and crisp profile, Voxel delivered what I expected, something both refreshing and nostalgic.