Whippet Badger

It's Friday, and I might like a drink.  In the mean time, enjoy Mitt Romney, who insists:  "Marijuana is great.  Call the whippet badger."

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Barack O'Beer

Perhaps it was public pressure. Perhaps it was our post, one among many, urging the White House take action.  Perhaps our President and his staff are just into the finest hobby in the world.  Whatever it was, whatever the reason was, the White House has decided to release their beer recipes unto homebrewers the world over!

From the press release:

As far as we know the White House Honey Brown Ale is the first alcohol brewed or distilled on the White House grounds. George Washington brewed beer and distilled whiskey at Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson made wine but there's no evidence that any beer has been brewed in the White House. (Although we do know there was some drinking during prohibition…)

Since our first batch of White House Honey Brown Ale we've added the Honey Porter and have gone even further to add a Honey Blonde this past summer. Like many home brewers who add secret ingredients to make their beer unique, all of our brews have honey that we tapped from the first ever bee-hive on the South Lawn. The honey gives the beer a rich aroma and a nice finish but it doesn't sweeten it.

Another nice touch is that the staff didn't just brew the kit recipe.  They sought some advice, engaged other homebrewers who work at the White House and made some recipes they can truthfully call their own.

Before I get to the recipes, the White House has included a fun little 4-minute vid on brewing the beer, the first-even beer brewed on the White House premises.

These recipes are extract-plus-specialty-grain beers; the kind almost every homebrewer whets their teeth on.  In the coming days, I'm going to look into converting the extracts detailed in the White House recipes into all-grain.  It's a matter of picking the right base grain and a few additional grains for color and flavor in such a way as to match the flavor of the extract syrup.  Additionally, they used dry yeast.  I'm not a giant fan of dry yeast, so I'll grab some yeast strains from White Labs or Wyeast that are in essence the same as the dry...just, you know, wet.

But for the extract brewers on this blog, and for general interest, behold:  The White House Honey Porter and the White House Honey Ale!

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˚.

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GOT IT!!

I have the Whitehouse beer recipes.  On my way to do a bunch of crap today, but will post as soon as possible.  Because you're all dying for it, I know.

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Mars or Alderaan?

While we have been discussing the 2nd Amendment here at ATK, the Curisoity rover has been blasting away on Mars with a gun - of sorts - of its own.

As you will see below, Curiosity has been zapping holes into rocks with a laser to examine their make-up.  See the before and after below.

So I wonder if the 2nd Amendment applies on Mars.  Does the 2nd Amendment apply to laser weapons?  If there are Martians there, could Curiosity defend itself?

Read more here.

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Faculty in Colorado Told to Allow Concealed Carry

In many states, college campuses are still a no-go for lawful carry. Michigan makes in unlawful to carry in a college classroom or dormitory. Most campuses ban carry for students and employees. There are some states, such as Utah, that allow it. Well, now Colorado joins them. The Supreme Court of Colorado said that campuses can't prohibit concealed carry. Despite this, some professors said they would cancel class if some permit holder had a concealed gun. The chancellor responded by telling them they could not do this. Personally, I have no problem with university carry. In Michigan, most college students are under 21, so the majority of students would not be able to carry anyway.

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To Infinity And Beyond

Neil Armstrong; August 5, 1930 - August 25, 2012. May he rest in peace. Fitting, isn't it, that we can and will remember him every time we look up in the night sky at the moon. That's a helluva tomb stone...

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Obama Continues to Disappoint Civil Libertarians

One of my favorite writers, Glenn Greenwald, is now at the Guardian. He continues to grill the current administration on issues dealing with civil liberties, war and terrorism. Unfortunately, outside of blogs and media outlets that deal primarily with civil liberties, the MSM really isn't interested in talking about these things. For that matter, most people don't really seem all that interested. His latest OpEd discusses the administration's strange secrecy practices, which seem to be let secrets out when it may help reelection and don't when it might hurt. I understand that there are legitimate security concerns, but it does seem odd to allow a Navy SEAL that was on that raid to publish an account of the mission, while John Kerry tells reporters asking about it to, "shut up and move on." Even more disturbing is how this administration has gone after whistleblowers at an unprecedented rate (double all of the previous administrations combined). Greenwald referenced a Mother Jones article that does a good job of highlighting some of the recent abuses. Is this healthy?

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