Executive Longing

I have missed the TV series The West Wing. It never occurred to me that I was missing it until I saw this recent ad for a Michigan supreme court justice candidate.  I thought I was immune to enjoying (and obsessing over) any serial entertainment from network TV, but I was so wrong.  The uniqueness of this realization has made me wonder what it was that made the show special to me.

Looking at it simply, any theater production is served first by story and then by characters.  You must have a story that the viewer can relate to and it must be compelling.  The plots presented by West Wing satisfied both of those criterion quite well.  We should all be able to relate to what could happen to our country and reality that the facts and decisions surrounding those happenings are seldom, if ever, cut-and-dry.  The many facets of the decisions is one of the major things that made the show compelling to me.  But I really think the thing that made this production stand out is the strengths, weaknesses, integrity, and conviction of the characters.  They are human and yet their willingness to act on their strong convictions carry them to the highest achievements.  I think this is how we would all like the executive team of Unites States (and make no mistakes, we are electing a team, not just a person) should act.  I’d like to think that the team we elect in November will carefully consider their decisions with the same intensity, integrity, and humanity that was portrayed on the West Wing.  This is why I think the show got under my skin.  As shallow as it is, I’ll be considering whether the executive team I vote for could carry an eight year network series.


And since politics drive me to drink:
From http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/09/01/ale-chief-white-house-beer-recipe 

WHITE HOUSE HONEY PORTER

Ingredients

• 2 (3.3 lb) cans light unhopped malt extract

• 3/4 lb Munich Malt (cracked)

• 1 lb crystal 20 malt (cracked)

• 6 oz black malt (cracked)

• 3 oz chocolate malt (cracked)

• 1 lb White House Honey

• 10 HBUs bittering hops

• 1/2 oz Hallertaur Aroma hops

• 1 pkg Nottingham dry yeast

• 3/4 cup corn sugar for bottling

Directions

1. In a 6 qt pot, add grains to 2.25 qts of 168˚ water. Mix well to bring temp down to 155˚. Steep on stovetop at 155˚ for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 2 gallons of water to 165˚ in a 12 qt pot. Place strainer over, then pour and spoon all the grains and liquid in. Rinse with 2 gallons of 165˚ water. Let liquid drain through. Discard the grains and bring the liquid to a boil. Set aside.
2. Add the 2 cans of malt extract and honey into the pot. Stir well.
3. Boil for an hour. Add half of the bittering hops at the 15 minute mark, the other half at 30 minute mark, then the aroma hops at the 60 minute mark.
4. Set aside and let stand for 15 minutes.
5. Place 2 gallons of chilled water into the primary fermenter and add the hot wort into it. Top with more water to total 5 gallons if necessary. Place into an ice bath to cool down to 70-80˚.
6. Activate dry yeast in 1 cup of sterilized water at 75-90˚ for fifteen minutes. Pitch yeast into the fermenter. Fill airlock halfway with water. Ferment at room temp (64-68˚) for 3-4 days.
7. Siphon over to a secondary glass fermenter for another 4-7 days.
8. To bottle, make a priming syrup on the stove with 1 cup sterile water and 3/4 cup priming sugar, bring to a boil for five minutes. Pour the mixture into an empty bottling bucket. Siphon the beer from the fermenter over it. Distribute priming sugar evenly. Siphon into bottles and cap. Let sit for 1-2 weeks at 75˚.

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WHITE HOUSE HONEY ALE

Ingredients

• 2 (3.3 lb) cans light malt extract

• 1 lb light dried malt extract

• 12 oz crushed amber crystal malt

• 8 oz Biscuit Malt

• 1 lb White House Honey

• 1 1/2 oz Kent Goldings Hop Pellets

• 1 1/2 oz Fuggles Hop pellets

• 2 tsp gypsum

• 1 pkg Windsor dry ale yeast

• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Directions

1. In an 12 qt pot, steep the grains in a hop bag in 1 1/2 gallons of sterile water at 155 degrees for half an hour. Remove the grains.
2. Add the 2 cans of the malt extract and the dried extract and bring to a boil.
3. For the first flavoring, add the 1 1/2 oz Kent Goldings and 2 tsp of gypsum. Boil for 45 minutes.
4. For the second flavoring, add the 1/2 oz Fuggles hop pellets at the last minute of the boil.
5. Add the honey and boil for 5 more minutes.
6. Add 2 gallons chilled sterile water into the primary fermenter and add the hot wort into it. Top with more water to total 5 gallons. There is no need to strain.
7. Pitch yeast when wort temperature is between 70-80˚. Fill airlock halfway with water.
8. Ferment at 68-72˚ for about seven days.
9. Rack to a secondary fermenter after five days and ferment for 14 more days.
10. To bottle, dissolve the corn sugar into 2 pints of boiling water for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into an empty bottling bucket. Siphon the beer from the fermenter over it. Distribute priming sugar evenly. Siphon into bottles and cap. Let sit for 2 to 3 weeks at 75˚.