We’re voracious consumers of culture. And each week, a member of our team shares the words, images, and beers that inspired them.
Flower from Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Read.// For a few years now I’ve been keeping a wish list of author-owned bookstores to visit across the United States. Currently at the top of that list is Louise Erdrich’s Birchbark Books in Minneapolis, a shop that specializes in Indigenous books, art, and language guides, many of which are not readily available in other, general-interest bookstores. Birchbark prides itself on being a cozy neighborhood spot for book lovers, a family-friendly destination, and a Native-owned and Native-friendly business. Those who browse in person can pop into a salvaged confessional (or “forgiveness booth”) and admire the handcrafted canoe hanging from the bookstore’s ceiling. But if you’re not close enough to visit, you can always read more about the bookstore’s mission and offerings on its “Our Story” page:
Look.// Once summer’s flowers have wilted away, you might be tempted to write off gardens for the winter. But there’s still plenty of natural color to revel in during the colder months. At the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, native trees like the pawpaw, which bears a custard-like fruit, and the staghorn sumac light up the landscape with autumn leaves in November, while flowers like Abelia ‘Rose Creek’ and hardy blue-flowered leadwort still bloom despite the cold. If you’re too far, or too chilly, to admire these colorful displays in person, check out the monthly “In Bloom” photographs on the Botanic Garden’s website for a virtual mood lifter.
Drink.// Tree House Brewing Company’s Cafe da Lat
Pie gets all the attention this time of year (granted, it’s well-deserved). But sometimes a cocktail or a cup of coffee serves a sweet tooth at the end of a meal just as well. Tree House Brewing Company, with outposts in Massachusetts and Connecticut, has got both covered with its Cafe da Lat canned cocktail, a boozy cold coffee beverage made from Tree House’s Kola Liqueur, Richley Rum, condensed milk, and house-brewed coffee. All the decadence of pie, but no crumbs to clean up afterward.
Words by Alyson Mosquera Dutemple 
