256. Read. Look. Drink.

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.

CLAIRE BULLEN

READ.// “It still means something to be from Marseille. There is a fierce identity and an almost vicious pride to contend with; an immediacy shared by those who live there, their identity soaked in a history of rebellion and frustration. Authority is always questioned and outsiders closely scrutinized. Marseille is nowhere to hide.” Substack food publication Vittles is vital reading every week, but last Monday’s piece—part of Vittles’ new “season four,” dedicated to hyper-regionalism—was particularly beguiling. Pulled from Ingrédient, the small Marseille community zine by Frank L’Opez, it captures the many voices and overlapping traditions found in the city’s Noailles neighborhood.

LOOK.// Lucy Dacus has dropped several new songs recently, in advance of her third album’s release on June 25, and “VBS” might be my favorite of the bunch. The song, about a summer spent at vacation bible school, is a mix of humor, coming-of-age poignancy, and a loss of innocence. It’s gorgeous, as is its dreamily animated music video.

DRINK.// Kutna Hora Gold 12 Czech Pilsner
London’s first dedicated Czech beer bar, Pivo, just opened last week, and my god—what a delight. I had visited the Czech Republic some six months before the pandemic began, and this felt uncannily like being back in Central Europe. Of all the beers I tried, Kutna Hora’s Gold 12, which I’d been lucky enough to first sample at the brewery, was my favorite. So richly bready, so much like toasted brioche with a swipe of butter and drizzle of honey—and now I can get it whenever I like.

JAMAAL LEMON

READ.// “If Americans eat less meat, but better meat, we can help keep smaller, local farms in business and weed out the mega-operations that are fraught with ethical and environmental concerns.” For a few years now, my wife and I have been making conscious efforts to eat locally sourced food only. I have quite a few vegan friends who always fail at their attempts to convert me. Not just because I’m a lover of meat (and hunting), but mostly because I see the benefit in supporting local farms who practice sustainability methods that benefit the environment. This Washington Post story really spoke to that perspective.

LOOK.// This is no secret—I’m a Dave Chappelle stan. He’s one of the few people whose words I hang onto through every syllable, as I did while listening to this podcast episode. His storytelling is like none other, and I always get more octane for my perspective.

DRINK.// Hysteria Brewing Company’s Baltimore Chop Milkshake IPA
I’m the first to roll my eyes when I hear folk express their love for Milkshake IPAs. But hot damnit—this beer makes me backtrack on my response to the style.

KATE BERNOT

READ.// “Cold cases invite speculation. We’re wired to seek order in the universe, to string together a series of facts into a narrative that makes sense to us.” This Outside Magazine longread—about the only Park Service ranger ever to go missing and never be found—is one of those stories that you’ll turn over and over in your head like a pebble. It’s a true mystery of the unsolved sort, the kind that reminds us that, no matter how much we want clues and tidbits to fit together, some truths will always remain beyond our power to lock together.

LOOK.// Two years ago, one of the world’s most compelling dance companies, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, commissioned Donald Byrd’s “Greenwood,” which explores the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre through dance. This year, the company is streaming “The Story of Greenwood,” which pieces together rehearsal footage, performance video, and documentary clips to present a behind-the-scenes look at how this piece of art came together. It’s a powerful testament to how the past and present are in constant dialogue, and how art can mediate that dialogue. (This video is available to watch on YouTube until Tuesday, June 8 at 7 p.m. EDT.)

DRINK.// Falling Knife Brewing Co.’s Royal Squabble Kölsch
I’m grateful to the friend who saw Falling Knife’s Royal Squabble, a gin-barrel-aged Kölsch with Meyer lemon, and knew it would be up my alley. It’s soft, botanical, and elegant, but still quenching and sunny—a lovely summer beer to pore over, or just to drink in the backyard on the hottest day of the month.

Curated by
The GBH Collective