In Episode 37, Erica is doing a mostly-dry January, so she drinks a local Birmingham kombucha called Plant Matter from Harvest Roots Ferments! Alyx shares some amazing poems by Bianca Lynne Spriggs, including one about mandrakes, and then they talk about how mandrakes ARE in fact real and what the mythical history is of them. This week's girl crush is all the women who worked on the newly released movie, Promising Young Woman. Let us know what you think...Cheers and happy inauguration day!

“I feel like millennials just collectively decided, ‘no fruitcake.’”

“Any woman that dared to look like she was having too much fun in a public setting... that woman is the devil!”

Beer: Christmas Bomb! By Prairie Artisan Ales (McAlester, Oklahoma)

Poetry: Selections from The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019

Girl Crush: Just picture the gif of Saoirse Ronan saying “women” in Little Women. We talk Taylor Swift, Dolly Parton, “Happiest Season,” and “trainwreck” women, based on Alyx’s recent reading of “Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock and Fear.”

This episode, we wrap up 2020 and are gonna go ahead and release it in 2021. The holidays are over but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a holiday beer. Erica discusses spices and high ABV, while Alyx pulls amazing poems from a book that’s full of things your teachers did not assign you. Start 2021 off right with a good beer, a good book, and hopefully a little less stress than we had in 2021.

Cheers!

“If you don’t clean up your apples, then bears will come and eat them.”

"I think it's naive to just assume poetry is a form of entertainment and nothing more. It does matter...language and what you say, who's writing it, who can read it."

Poems: In Hieu Minh Nguyen's book "Not Here" (Coffee House Press, 2018)

Beer: Ranch Hand Hard Cider by Western Cider (Missoula, Montana)

Finally, a new No Rhyme or Refill!! After Erica and Alyx take some time off to not fail their semesters during the pandemic, and just survive mental health-wise, they're back with the long-promised ~switch episode~ where they get out of their comfort zone a bit. Alyx talks local hard cider in Missoula, specifically the cider Ranch Hand, and shares how she learned about the Wassail celebration (coming up soon!)and Erica shares some important and powerful poems from one of her favorite poetry books this year, "Not Here" by Hieu Minh Nguyen. Thanks for tuning in, and cheers!

"People appreciate the balance of flavors, as opposed to the 'put some hair on your chest! It's the most bitter IPA."

"Full disclosure: This is a book I had to read for class last week."

Beer: Tears of my Enemies by Monday Night Brewing (Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama)

Poetry: Erika Meitner's book Holy Moly Carry Me (2018, BOA Editions)

Girl Crush: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

We're 34 episodes in, and we're still surviving and balancing work and school and the podcast and the minimal fun you can have during a global pandemic. But sometimes, we'll just take a few shortcuts, such as reading poems from a book assigned for class or enjoying a small beer before a Zoom class gets going. It's called ~balance~.

But even if we're working on crunched schedules, we're not short on fun things to talk about. This week, Erica enjoys her first beer from a physical Monday Night Brewing, as opposed to the grocery store, and compares it to an apple fritter with breakfast. Alyx reads select poems from Erika Meitner's book, "Holy Moly Carry Me," and we discuss Meitner's ability to balance normalcy and the mundane with beautiful imagery and subtle messages.

It's a good one, folks. So put on your sweaters, hold a book close and crack open a beer. It's fall, baby!

"I feel like every time I see the word sherbet I'm SHOCKED to find there's only one R."

Beer: Dewdropper Blackberry Sherbet Sour IPA by Tallulah Brewing (Jasper, AL)

Poetry: Patricia Lockwood's book Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals (2014, Penguin Books)

Girl Crush: "Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers" by Taisia Kitaiskaia(Author), Katy Horan (Illustrator)

Episode 33 is a bright spot in the current wildfire and hurricane climate. Wishing everyone as much safety as possible this week. We talk about our first Tallulah Brewing beer as well as the bizarre and intriguing poetry of Patricia Lockwood, which includes a poem about a man marrying an owl exhibit. Yes, you read that right. Grab a beer and read a poem with us. Cheers, y'all.

"I've also been doing research on the beer, so I didn't automatically think human predator."

"I thought you were saying chat books, not chapbooks."

Beer: Apex Predator from Off Color Brewing (Chicago, Illinois)

Poetry: "Therǝ is a Case That I Ɐm" by torrin a. greathouse

Girl Crush: Bassey Ikpi, Author of "I'm Lying But I'm Telling the Truth."

On this week's episode, Erica struggles to find the right words to describe Apex Predator, a coffee saison from Off Color Brewing, and Alyx reads from torrin a. greathouse, a transgender cripple-punk poet. Erica also realized she has misheard a term for a full 31 episodes of this podcast.

Cheers!

"You have to acknowledge the negative things in the past... you can’t just ignore it or 'bless your heart' it."

"Maybe that’s something that’s so infuriating about some people who write about the south they refuse to acknowledge the privilege and the power."

Beer: Retitled Pils (Against the Grain Brewing, Louisville, KY)

Poetry: from Amy Woolard's book "Neck of the Woods" (2020, Alice James Books)

Crush: Sarah and Marta (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/magazine/title-ix-sexual-harassment-accusations.html)

Episode 31 is all about pilsners and some Southern poetry! Erica and Alyx talk about a longtime favorite brewery, Against the Grain, as well as the nuance and acknowledgement of the past (and present!) needed to write excellent Southern poetry. They then chat about Amy Woolard's long-time-coming book about a childhood best friend and its connection to Wizard of Oz. Cheers!

"That's always wild to me when any sort of poetry book gets sold at Target."

"If you can't underhand racism in your personal life how are you supposed to understand systemic racism."

Beer: 5 Lizard Passionfruit Witbier from 5 Rabbit Cervecería (Chicago, Illinois)

Poetry: Poems from "Citizen" by Claudia Rankine

Girl Crush: Tie Simpson/ Hippie Heathen

Erica and Alyx are back for Episode 30 and ready to discuss a beer that Erica ... honestly didn't really like the first time she tried it? But after giving it a second shot, some opinions have changed. Alyx also brings along sections from "Citizen," a book-length poem by American author Claudia Rankine. Even though this book was published in 2014, the portrait of racial relations and racism remains just as relevant today.

Beer: Athletic Brewing Co. Non-Alcoholic IPA

Poetry: poems from "Build Yourself a Boat" (BreakBeat Poets)by Camonghne Felix (Haymarket Books, 2019)

Erica and Alyx are back for Episode 29 after a break focusing on educating themselves on anti-racism, their roles in a white supremacist society, and how to become better allies for BIPOC folx and further support Black Lives Matter. This week they talk about their first non-alcoholic beer and read the powerful work of Camonghne Felix, a Black, Queer poet and spoken word artist.

"The sky is one of the few things we can't taste."

"It's like, the ants don't know about the euphemisms."

Beer: Le Ciel Dry Hopped Golden Lager (Westbrook Brewing, South Carolina)

Poetry: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay

Girl Crush: Nadiya Hussain (Great British Baking Show and Nadiya's Time to Eat)

This week, Erica breaks into the beer cellar for our first non-local brew in a while, and Alyx ventures outside with poems by Ross Gay. Please enjoy Erica's poor pronunciation of French words and Alyx's musing's about tasting the sky while we drink beer and enjoy poetry on Episode 28. Cheers!