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

READ.// “The search for meaning takes you here. It has to take you here.” Reporting a tragedy is the hardest kind of journalism. There is so much at stake. You agonize over word choice. You search for a structure that will convey the details in the most empathetic, compassionate way. When the piece involves the untimely deaths of people so young, and with so much to look forward to in their lives, there is a glaring need to ensure you tell the stories that emphasize the best of these young people in the now-finite reservoir of stories to tell about them. Jeff Pearlman does this masterfully in his story of the University of the Southwest golf team for Golf Digest.

LOOK.// Since my first drive across the United States, I’ve been fascinated by the American West. From the canyons to the coastlines, from the cowboys to El Capitan, the region is endlessly beguiling. As such, I’ve been captivated by the paintings of Albert Bierstadt, whose most well-known works capture the grandeur and spectacular unknown of Western landscapes perfectly.

DRINK.// Sacred Profane Brewing’s Dark Lager
The most anticipated beer purveyor in the northeastern United States right now might well be Sacred Profane Brewing in Biddeford, Maine, the new brewery from Brienne Allan and Mike Fava. The “tankpub” serves just two beers: a Pale and a Dark Czech Lager. At just 4% ABV, the Dark Lager flashes a wonderful complexity. But while the beer is well-made enough to be studied and measured, it’s also the perfect accompaniment to a long session of conversation, a complement to—not the centerpiece of—the experience.