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. // “Lady Gaga is our pop laureate of the grand entrance, our patron saint of operatic ingress. She has never, in a decade of global fame, been content to simply appear in a room; she has to plummet into it, shimmying down a cable like a diamond-encrusted spider.” I may not have any interest in seeing A Star is Born, and I would never classify myself as a Little Monster, but Rachel Syme’s profile of Lady Gaga in The New York Times Magazine is so achingly well written that it forced me to reconsider both.
LOOK. // Magí Puig’s oil paintings of languid beachgoers and near-empty street scenes mingle contemporary casualness with a faded, elegiac quality. They’re mysterious and captivating and a little ominous. I love looking at them.
DRINK. // Braybrooke’s Keller Lager
It took me a long, long time to come around to The Gospel Of Lager, but a sip—and then a bottle—of Braybrooke’s Keller last week left me changed. Based on a farm in the middle of Leicestershire, this upstart brewing has collaborated with Stephan Michael of Mahrs Bräu to produce this true-to-style German banger. It’s exceptionally clean, totally faultless, and bolstered by a rich, sweet malt profile.
READ. // “Her situation highlights one of the paradoxes of pop: so much of the business is built on selling the kind of self-belief that only truly comes with age, yet few artists are allowed to mature on their own terms. In today’s see-what-sticks era, pop stars that are not instant successes are sidelined or exiled to development hell." I became familiar with Body Talk through Tumblr. With Robyn set to drop her first album in eight years, this in-depth profile has me psyched.
LOOK. // I love music, but I'm a bit jealous that I've never loved music as much as these people appear to.
DRINK. // Metropolitan Brewing’s Afterburner Märzen
After being out of the country all September, I was pumped to finally get to this Oktoberfest by Metropolitan when I got back. Afterburner is a perfectly balanced Märzen. Full of roasted malt flavor and with a hint of sweetness that finishes clean, I'll be drinking this seasonal as long as I can.
READ. // I'm all about what's the most fun rather than what's the best, so as NBA season gets underway, I loved The Ringer's take on the most interesting teams: "Can I be honest with you all for a second? You know how every website in existence publishes regular power rankings of which of the league’s 30 teams seem to be the best, or worst, or Most Extremely 17th at a particular nanosecond in time? Well, that’s always bored me."
LOOK. // The United States embassy in Australia sent a fake meeting invite with a photo of a cat dressed as cookie monster. They have since apologized, which is too bad, because the photo is great.
DRINK. // Weihenstephaner’s Festbier
My local was doing $6 pints, so we skipped out on a bar launch, despite the free beer and cocktails, to go drink this instead. And then we drank it. It was so good that we had seconds and thirds. You can't beat the classics.
Curated by The GBH Collective
