Wanted: Obama's secret honey beer recipe

White House hit with Freedom of Information Act request asking for the recipe to the Obama administration's privately brewed Honey Ale.

Wed, Aug 22 2012 at 1:41 PM

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Photo: White House

For the first time, a beer recipe has been sought under the Freedom of Information Act.

The unusual request comes in response to the rising popularity of the Obama administration's privately brewed White House Honey Ale. The beverage, first unveiled during a Super Bowl party at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in 2011, is made using honey produced locally by Michelle Obama's honeybees.

But brewers across America are eager to learn more — so eager that interested parties have not only created a petition for the recipe on the White House site, but have also submitted an FOIA request.

“In keeping with the brewing traditions of the founding fathers, homebrewers across America call on the Obama administration to release the recipe for the White House home brew so that it may be enjoyed by all,” the petition reads.

During a campaign visit last week, White House Spokesman Jay Carney was bombarded by reporters with questions concerning the brew after it was revealed that the president keeps his bus well-stocked. “I think I’ve only tried the light, and it’s quite refreshing,” he said.

When pressed for more details, he said: “I have exhausted my knowledge of this subject. When someone hands me a beer, I don’t ask how it was made, I just drink it.”

While the Obama family doesn't actually make the beer (the kitchen staff gets all the credit), such homebrewing in the White House is a first. From NPR:

"We have no record of beer brewing at the White House," [White House Curator Bill] Allman said, noting that even the gourmand Thomas Jefferson never actually brewed beer in the White House. Founding father George Washington was a noted homebrewer, as The Hill notes — but he never lived in the White House, so he's out of the running for this distinction.

And should Obama lose the election in November, will the White House Honey Ale have a future with the next administration? According to Fox News, likely not. "Since he’s a Mormon, he doesn’t drink beer or any alcohol."

The site adds, however, that he is fond of chocolate milk.

Related beer, bee and politics stories on MNN:

Dozens of beer recipes from The Microbrew Lover's Cookbook
Learn more about the White House bees
Amazon offers 'novel' look at U.S. politics

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