White House Honey Ale Explained

White House Honey Ale
Brewery:White House Brewery
Style:Top-fermented beer
Year:2011

White House Honey Ale is the first beer known to have been brewed in the White House.[1] The process began in January 2011[2] at the request of President Barack Obama, who purchased the homebrewing kit using personal funds.[3], three styles have been brewed in addition to the honey ale: White House Honey Blonde Ale, White House Honey Porter and White House Honey Brown.[4]

Background

The chefs at the White House are said to use "traditional methods" to brew the beer, before it is bottled and labelled with a customized logo. It includes a pound of honey collected from beehives on the South Lawn.[5] The logo features a line drawing of the White House on a maroon background encircled in yellow.[6]

The beer has been brewed for various events held at the White House. A Super Bowl party, attended by nearly 200 guests including acquainted celebrities and members of the U.S. Congress, was one of the first events where the ale was served. Nearly 10gal were produced for the party, with around 90 to 100 bottles available. Some bottles were also brewed for St. Patrick's Day.On September 15, 2011, former United States Marine Corps Sergeant Dakota Meyer was the recipient of the Medal of Honor at the White House. Earlier, when informed of his award over the phone, he requested to share a beer with President Obama. The president accepted the offer and they each drank a bottle of the ale on the patio outside the Oval Office.

Former president Thomas Jefferson, who lived in the White House between 1801 and 1809, is known to have brewed beer himself, particularly after his retirement. He has been called "America's first microbrewer", but there is no evidence that it happened at the White House.

Petition

On August 21, 2012, at least two Freedom of Information Act requests were sent to the White House seeking the recipe of the White House Honey Ale from California attorney Scott Talkov and Texas attorney Brodie Burks, both home brewers.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] On August 29, 2012 during a brief Q&A session on Reddit, President Obama announced he would release the recipe, stating, "It will be out soon! I can tell from firsthand experience, it is tasty."[13] [14] [15]

The recipe was released on September 1, 2012 on whitehouse.gov.[16] As work of the United States Federal Government, the recipe is in the public domain.

Style

White House Honey Ale does not match a specific beer style as outlined by the Beer Judge Certification Program style guidelines. Gravity, alcohol by volume, bitterness and color are within the guidelines for a Belgian Dubbel, however the English hop and yeast selection are not in keeping with the Belgian Dubbel style. Therefore, this beer would fall under BJCP Category 23- Specialty Beer.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Kitsock . Greg. Beer with presidential aspirations. https://web.archive.org/web/20180119155041/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/18/AR2011021806365.html . January 19, 2018 . The Washington Post. February 22, 2011. September 18, 2011.
  2. Web site: The Obamas Make History With Homebrewed White House Honey Ale. https://web.archive.org/web/20110924130536/http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2011/03/obamas-make-history-with-homebrewed.html . September 24, 2011 . Obama Foodorama. March 1, 2011 . September 18, 2011.
  3. Web site: White House brewing its own beer . https://web.archive.org/web/20200227114743/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-brewing-its-own-beer/ . February 27, 2020 . CBS News. September 16, 2011. September 18, 2011.
  4. Web site: Home brewing the toast of the Beltway . Murgai, Puja . March 26, 2012 . Politico.com . April 22, 2012 . November 28, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231128185600/https://www.politico.com/story/2012/03/home-brewing-the-toast-of-beltway-074496 . live .
  5. Web site: Crugnale. James. Obama Homebrews White House Honey Ale For Medal Of Honor Recipient. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927063319/http://www.mediaite.com/online/obama-homebrews-white-house-honey-ale-for-medal-of-honor-recepient/ . September 27, 2011 . Mediaite. September 16, 2011 . September 18, 2011.
  6. Web site: Wolf. Z Byron. A White House Brewery? White House Honey Ale. https://web.archive.org/web/20120830223222/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/02/a-white-house-brewery-white-house-honey-ale/ . August 30, 2012 . ABC News. February 7, 2011. September 18, 2011.
  7. Web site: The People Demand Answers (About What Exactly Is In The White House Homebrew) . Marin Cogan . GQ.com . GQ . August 22, 2012 . November 28, 2023 . January 19, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140119122117/http://www.gq.com/news-politics/blogs/death-race/2012/08/the-people-demand-answers-about-what-exactly-is-in-the-white-house-homebrew.html . live .
  8. Web site: Lawyer Seeks (and Obtains) White House Honey Ale Recipe via Freedom of Information Act Request . Scott Talkov . Talkovlaw.com . Talkovlaw . June 23, 2020 . November 28, 2023 . June 3, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230603073529/https://talkovlaw.com/lawyer-seeks-white-house-honey-ale-recipe-via-freedom-of-information-act-request/ . live .
  9. Web site: Help Brewers Obtain The White House Beer Recipe, Sign the Petition . David Minsky . August 23, 2012 . MiamiNewTimes.com . Miami New Times . August 23, 2012 . August 26, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120826210233/http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2012/08/brewers_seek_a_copy_of_the_whi.php . live .
  10. Web site: Obama's suds recipe brews up a honey of a popular movement . Lesley Ciarula Taylor . August 24, 2012 . TheStar.com . The Star . August 24, 2012 . August 30, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120830000714/http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1246675--obama-s-suds-recipe-brews-up-a-honey-of-a-popular-movement . live .
  11. Web site: White House beer recipe might soon be in public hands . Alix Bryan . August 26, 2012 . CBSLocal.com . CBS Richmond & Central Virginia . August 26, 2012 . August 28, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120828101103/http://wtvr.com/2012/08/26/white-house-beer-recipe-might-soon-be-in-public-hands/ . live .
  12. Web site: Local Lawyer — And Home Brewer — Goes To Extraordinary Lengths To Get President's Secret Beer Recipe . Rachel Kim . August 24, 2012 . CBSLocal.com . CBS Los Angeles . August 24, 2012 . August 28, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120828034616/http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/08/24/local-lawyer-and-home-brewer-going-to-extraordinary-lengths-to-get-presidents-secret-beer-recipe/ . live .
  13. Web site: I am Barack Obama, President of the United States -- AMA . Barack Obama . August 29, 2012 . Reddit . August 29, 2012 . November 7, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121107082601/http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/z1c9z/i_am_barack_obama_president_of_the_united_states/c60ncij . live .
  14. Web site: Obama Hits Reddit, Talks White House Beer Recipe, Crashes Servers . Greg Henderson . August 29, 2012 . NPR.org . NPR . August 29, 2012 . August 30, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120830003838/http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/08/29/160270668/obama-hits-reddit-talks-white-house-beer-recipe-crashes-servers . live .
  15. Web site: President promises to release beer recipe; FOIA filers react . Eun Kyung Kim . August 30, 2012 . MSNBC.com . MSNBC . August 30, 2012 . August 31, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120831203026/http://bites.today.com/_news/2012/08/30/13567601-president-promises-to-release-beer-recipe-foia-filers-react . live .
  16. Web site: Ale to the Chief: White House Beer Recipe. Sam. Kass. September 1, 2012. National Archives. whitehouse.gov. September 2, 2012. January 20, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170120193250/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/09/01/ale-chief-white-house-beer-recipe. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "White House Honey Ale".

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