Beer Photo: Edelweiss Wheat Beer

Beer Photo: Trumer Pils at Hemingway Bar in Graz, Austria

Beer News: What is the President's personal brew?

A light, crisp, refreshing beer, made with honey from the White House's gardens -- That does sound delicious!
I hope some craft brewery is able to get this recipe and produce the White House's brew on a larger scale, so people across the nation can buy some beer. I would even be happy if some of the cost went toward the whittling down the US deficit. (What an idea for a slogan, Drink to reduce the Deficit!)
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(CNN) – President Obama makes a point of being seen enjoying a beer now and again. ...

This may be no surprise, given that the winner of recent presidential elections has usually been the same person that voters have identified in polls as someone with whom they’d prefer to drink a beer.
But the president even went a step further last week during his trip to Iowa, revealing to a voter that his campaign bus was stocked with beer that is brewed in the White House. Obama officials have long been tight-lipped about the home-made beer that is reportedly made with honey extracted from the White House gardens, but now home-brewing enthusiasts are hoping to force their hand.
In a petition on the White House website, individuals identifying themselves as “homebrewers across America” are calling on the Obama administration to fork over the special suds recipe.
“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.
While the White House website allows for anybody to make a petition on any matter, the administration will not formally respond unless the petition garners at least 25,000 signatures within one month. As of last count, the petition had 880 signatures.
Meanwhile, as reported by Government Executive, at least one user on the home-brewing forum of the website Reddit is going a more bureaucratic route – filing a Freedom of Information Request with the administration. In the request, the individual writes that disclosure of the recipe will “likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government.”
While it’s unlikely the recipe will be forked over anytime soon, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney did divulge a few details last week.
“The President said there are two types - there’s a light and a dark. I think I’ve only tried the light, and it’s quite refreshing,” Carney told reporters.
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[Links removed]
Attributed to CNN White House Producer Alexander Mooney

Beer Advice: What Beer to Order at a Bar

In a recent interview of Charles Bamforth on Chow.com, the professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences [This exists!?!] at UC Davis explains how best to order beer.
The best beer is locally brewed, poured from a fresh keg whose lines are cleaned nightly.
That's because the beer has traveled less, which means it was brewed more recently; an untapped keg is less likely to be stale; and cleaning the lines reduces chance of bacterial infection which can alter taste.
Second choice? Any beer on tap, where the lines are cleaned nightly.
Never order imported beer, because you don't know how long it took to travel from the country of origin to your country of drinking.
Even cans aren't necessarily to be frown upon. Cans can seal more air-tight than bottles, and the metal protects the brew from light which can degrade the volatile chemicals which make beer so flavorful.

His whole interview is worth a read, go check it out.

Beer Trivia: Reinheitsgebot

In 1516 Reinheitsgebot was introduced as a law in Germany which states that beer may only contain four ingredients: water, malt, hops, and yeast. This law has regulated German beer brewing ever since.