Beer Me

What to Drink at the White House Tonight

Photo: Getty Images

We already know that President Obama will be drinking Bud Light tonight at his highly hyped sit-down with Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley. But what emblematic beer will his guests be drinking? Brewers across the country explained to us why their bottle is the one to raise on the White House lawn tonight. Leave your own recommendations in the comments.

The Beer: Golden Arm
The Brewer: Jonathan Cutler, Piece Brewery & Pizza in Chicago.
The Reasoning: “Not too much hops, not too much malt. If it’s too hoppy someone might make a bitter face, if it’s too malty someone might make a sweet face. In that setting any inadvertent smiles or gestures can go wrong.”

The Beer: Victory’s Hop Devil Ale
The Brewer: Bill Covalieski of Victory Brewing Co. in Downingtown, Pennsylvania
The Reasoning: “The beer is all about harmonizing disparate things. It has rich, sweet malt components and wildly bitter and aromatic hop characteristics — the two don’t really belong together in this type of beer.”

The Beer: Checker Cab Blonde Ale
The Brewer: Mark Szmaida of Chelsea Brewing Co. in New York City
The Reasoning: “Blonde Ale is a crowd-pleaser and is sure to please all palates, even if some of the participants are light-beer drinkers. Basically, it’s a diplomatic beer”

The Beer: Flying Fish Exit 11
The Brewer: Gene Muller of Flying Fish Brewing Co. in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
The Reasoning: “Exit 11 is the midpoint between Cambridge and D.C. It’s in a big bottle, so the act of sharing it will be a first step in smoothing over their differences.”

The Beer: Brooklyn Lager
The Brewer: Ben Hudson of Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
The Reasoning: “Anheuser-Busch is a part of Belgian-owned In-Bev. A more appropriate choice would be to select a beer from the borough of Brooklyn, long a stronghold of a progressive stance on race.”

The Beer: Belmont Amber Ale
The Brewer: David Blackwell of Belmont Brewing Co. in Long Beach, California
The Reasoning: “Beers like Bud are Wonder Bread: mass-produced, watery, uninteresting. But getting one of our beers is like the difference between going to a supermarket and going to a local bakery and getting bread that’s fluffy and flavorful and crusty.”

The Beer: Heartland’s Red Rooster Ale
The Brewer: Jon Bloostein of Heartland Brewery in Fort Greene, Brooklyn
The Reasoning: “The reconciliation could take a little while, so they’re gonna need a couple of beers. Red Rooster Ale is a great session beer with enough hops to help cut through the bs and malt to keep things balanced.”

The Beer: Double Daddy Imperial IPA
The Brewer: John Gillooly of Speakeasy Ales and Lagers in San Francisco
The Reasoning: “It’s got a 9.5 percent alcohol content, so they may start to get fired up, but by the end they’re sitting down again.”

What to Drink at the White House Tonight