The Obamas and KBS

On Saturday I attended my first political rally. I thought I'd start big and go for the leader of the free world and his wife. Along with K, her friend S, and 14,000 others, we headed down to the Shottenstein Centre on campus to witness what was some sort of strange cross between a pantomime and an evangelical crusade. We arrived fairly early to be sure of getting in (it later transpired this was never in doubt) and waited in line for a little over an hour. When we got inside the arena (shows coming up there include Van Halen and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers) and through the airport style security, we quickly tried to get as close as possible. We realized that it wasn't going to be all that close. Rumor was that you needed a pass to stand on the floor right up close, or sit much closer than we got, as you can probably make out in the picture above.

There were quite a few warm up speakers before we got the president and the first lady. These included  a couple encouraging us to phone our friends (like, right then, as they waited) to make sure that they were going to vote democrat in November (yes, November is when the election is, this was his first campaign event); I "forgot" my phone. We also got John Glenn, who was the first American to orbit the earth and third American in space. He is also a former Ohio senator. The mayor spoke, a minister  prayed and we were getting closer. Blue Obama signs were handed out to those that were going to be behind, or at least within camera shot of the world's media. We didn't get a blue sign. Finally the time came and Michelle bounced on stage to the funky bass line of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground." People went a bit crazy. She said a few words, spoke about how hard her parents had worked to give her the chance in life she got and then introduced her husband. The place went crazy again and we settled in for Barack's 40 minute speech. I say speech, but it seemed to be more of a series of statements with pauses left for the appropriate response. Either cheers, for the good that has been done so far and the planned good to come, or boos for any Romney/ Republican related fact/ sentiment. Michelle returned briefly, there was more cheering and we were on our way. One of the stranger ways to spend a Saturday morning.

Having previously mentioned Founders brewery here, I had the chance to sample one of their rarer brews this last week. One of my "ping pong" buddies had managed to secure a four pack of the latest release of Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) from Founders. People go a bit crazy for this stuff, so much so that they line up around the block in Grand Rapids, MI hoping to be able to hand over $114 for a case. People went away disappointed this year, even after the brewery decided to sell only 1/2 a case to each person waiting. They have, as a result, tripled their output this year. The beer is aged for a year in bourbon barrels and stored in gypsum caves under the city. It seemed that there may be the danger that the story and the limited quantity of the beer goes before the taste, but fortunately this wasn't the case. It really was a proper stout, poured like molasses, tasted like vanilla and caramel to start, with chocolate and coffee flavors coming through at the end. I was still tasting it hours later.