25.Linkapalooza: The Library is Open
Favorite reading recs from all over the web and even those irl book things; plus a devilish beer.
As If Your Reading List Isn’t Already Long Enough
This week we’re doing things a little differently, because I am currently across the pond visiting a friend in the UK. I wanted to be able to get something together ahead of time, considering next week is Thanksgiving so there won’t be a newsletter. Tbh I would still write a thing and send it all to you because I couldn’t give a hoot about the holiday, but I figure most of you do and whatever I write will fall on deaf eyes or blind ears or whatever. So, I love you so much, and I hope you eat tons of good food and spend the day with family or chosen family or friends or your dog or Netflix or truly whatever actually gives you joy, and I’ll see you Thursday the 2nd, k?
I’m not going to write about anything to do with beer and Thanksgiving, either, because there’s the entire internet for that. Instead, because I also don’t want to half-ass this on you just because I’m gallivanting around Bermondsey breweries and Cotswolds pubs, I’ve decided to do a little round-up, in case you have some extra time on your hands around Thanksgiving and want to do some reading/viewing/listening. Huzzah!
To kick things off, here’s something a little different from my own portfolio: a little humor writing. Apparently I will always work astrology in when I can? Horoscopes By The Drunk Girl In The Bar Bathroom is an ode to one of my favorite parts about Going Out: making temporary friends in the bathroom.
Someone shared this story on Twitter recently and reminded me of how much I love it, so here’s a little throwback to a gem from Beth Demmon for Good Beer Hunting: Witch (Craft) Beer — How a New Wave of Brewers are Incorporating Magic into Beer.
If you haven’t yet subscribed to Dave Infante’s newsletter Fingers, this issue on Kelsey Grammer’s “vaguely Christian craft beer brand” should be all the last convincing you need.
As someone with fond memories of Pretty Things beer and a long, lovely chat with Dann Paquette and Martha Simpson-Holley at an event at Rattle n’ Hum in…oh, 2011?—and with such an itch to get to their new digs in Sheffield—I just love this piece for Pellicle, Everything in its Right Place — The Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert, Sheffield. I love Matthew Curtis’ writing, and this is as close to an irl visit to St. Mars that you could possibly hope for in a story.
More Good Beer Hunting, and honestly it’s hard sometimes to not just link to everything published there: I’ll never forget this piece by Eoghan Walsh, If Proust Ate Pringles — On Memory, Loss, and the Persistence of Heineken. It’ll getcha right in the gut. I actually read it again just now when I went in to get the link. It’s an especially compelling read ‘round the holidays, seeing family, indulging in nostalgia, making new memories.
This piece, if you haven’t already read it, is essential. It is Nneka M. Okona’s A vacation town promises rest and relaxation. The water knows the truth. for Vox. In it, Nneka tells the story of Igbo Landing, and the violence of this event being kept hidden from history classes and textbooks. Because this took place in the water surrounding St. Simons Island, a popular vacation destination, this piece is travel writing lifted up to a new level of truth, heritage, vitality. Nneka is an incredible writer; definitely follow her and her work if you haven’t yet.
A look at the 1970s is necessary for anyone interested in the American craft beer scene. The industry was basically a bummer, but by the late ‘70s, there was a crucial turning point in the form of early craft brewery trailblazers and the legalization of homebrewing. Chris O’Leary discusses this in a succinct, fascinating newsletter issue, so read that as well as all the other issues of Brew York.
I love this profile and its subject. For PUNCH, Chloe Frechette writes about Doom Tiki, a pop-up concept from Austin Hartman and Chockie Tom. Doom Tiki harnesses the power of unique aesthetics and delicious drinks to confront the entirely faux “culture” of tiki and all the many ways it is deeply problematic.
Okay, I could go on forever, because the world wide web is vast, but instead, here are a few non-internet recs, just for kicks.
I love Samantha Irby so much. Reading her goddamned brilliant, honest, hilarious writing is the closest I can get to pretending she is my best friend so I do it every chance I can get. All her books are great, but if I had to pick one, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life will, I promise, make you laugh out loud non-stop.
Dr. Lindsey Fitzharris’ The Butchering Art is probably my favorite book of all time. Lindsey is so endlessly smart and such an engaging writer, and this is a captivating look at the medical practice in the Victorian era, specifically Joseph Lister, a pioneer in antiseptic medicine—he is one of the people we can thank for being able to have surgery without immediate, often-fatal infection. This one is not for the squeamish, btw.
If you’re a comedy fan and haven’t yet read William Knoedelseder’s I’m Dying Up Here, get to it—you will love it, trust me! I also loved the Showtime series based on the book, but, ya know, the book is always better. William was on the scene in ‘70s LA for what was a watershed period, thanks (very) largely in part to Mitzi Shore and The Comedy Store.
Okay, all of those were non-beer, and even non-alcohol-related. So, another all-time favorite is Mark Forsyth’s A Short History of Drunkenness. I’m not ashamed to say I felt searing jealousy the entire time I was reading this—to be able to write like this, golly! There is so much information in this book, which is all fascinating and provides valuable context to the way we drink, and yet every line is conversational and clever, and the book is indeed short.
To wrap up my book recs, obviously I’m going to tell you again to, if you haven’t already, get your hands on Tara Nurin’s A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs. Tara is such a brilliant, compelling writer and this book is incredibly well researched, seamlessly weaving together the history of women in beer from ancient times to today.
Beer Tarot!
Uh oh. The Devil has entered the chat.
This card is kind of like Death in that when it comes up, your immediate reaction might be something along the lines of, “Well, that doesn’t seem good.” But like all tarot cards, The Devil is just here to tell you something about yourself and/or your life and present situation. This card speaks to attachment, addiction, and your “shadow self.” The latter meaning, the version of you that embodies negative habits and behaviors, or at least habits and behaviors you don’t like and want to work on. It’s your “dark passenger,” if you’re a “Dexter” fan, or your evil twin, if you’re a…whatever soap opera fan.
Basically, some kind of habit, addiction, thought pattern, behavior, or choice(s) are keeping you from true, long-term fulfillment, contentment, wellness, and happiness. You’re all about the now, baby, but you know what they say about instant gratification. Do you? I’m actually not sure, but it’s almost definitely something bad. Anyway, when this card comes up, it’s a signal to confront whatever you want to change in order to start on the path to improvement, which will in turn be the path to happiness.
This tarot felt kinda heavy, no? I gotta read ‘em like I see ‘em. Let’s lighten the mood with an on-brand classic: crack open a Victory HopDevil IPA. Enjoy. And if you do want to change something in your life, I wish you all the support; if you don’t, don’t! I think you’re pretty great.
This Week’s Boozy Reading Rec
I guess technically this section is redundant this week since the entire issue is reading recs, but routine is all we have to cling to in an ever increasing world of chaos! (I’m not dramatic, you’re dramatic.) Anyway, this one’s a bit more recent: I love smoked beer. And I love that it’s been getting a little extra love lately. So, read Justin Kennedy’s rauchbier write-up for PUNCH, The Anti-IPA Is Having a Moment. Bonus points because it includes Dovetail’s Grodziskie, which I drank in early October and miss very much.
Until the week after next week, here is Darby (smugly?) shopping for beer at the sadly now-defunct New Beer Distributors on the Lower East Side.
