Can choosing the right beer help White House avoid political nightmare?

So you have all heard by now that President Obama plans to meet with Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge police department and Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Harvard University at the White House over a couple of beers and hash their problems out…okay, well maybe its intended to stop a media firestorm, but I digress.  Either way, the meeting is scheduled for this week and all attention now turns to the details.

Over this past weekend, America Public House Review editor Chris Poh offered a most noble of public services by suggesting some brews that might help ease the tension of said meeting.  Yes, suggesting they serve Loose Cannon Ale may seem to the White House staff to be, on the surface, somewhat snarky.  But perhaps a little humor and self-deprecation should be on the menu. 

According to this morning’s Boston Herald, none of our suggestions seem to be at the top of the list.  But there still is time…

The beer selection for Thursday’s meeting is not known. Crowley prefers Blue Moon beer. Gates likes Beck’s and Red Stripe. The president drinks Budweiser.

First of all, I find it hilarious that some reporter actually cared enough to ask Gates and Crowley what beer they like.  (I also find it somewhat sad that these same reporters felt their time was best spent asking such a question…)  And I suppose taking their tastes into account may be a good way to break the ice.

However, there does seem to be a potential political disaster here for President Obama.  Doesn’t the president or at least someone in the West Wing realize that Budweiser is no longer an American company?  Couldn’t this lead to rumors that Obama was actually born in Belgium and not Honolulu??  Maybe he should switch to one of the fine beers offered by the Kona Brewing Company…just another public service from your friends at the American Public House Review.

by David McBride

What Beer Goes Best With Crow?

The staff of American Public House Review are well aware of President Obama’s penchant for a good brew. We chronicled that particular predilection during his campaign visit to the Bethlehem Brew Works in 2008. We are pleased to discover that his fondness for the juice of the barley has been incorporated into public policy. The latest beneficiaries of his beer tap diplomacy are Sergeant James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.. Both gentlemen have been invited to the White House for a beer.

The question is which selection of suds will best  smooth over the  ruffled feathers, and what beer goes best with crow?

Here are three offerings from the editors of American Public House Review:

• We suggest beginning the session by serving Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale from Yards Brewing of Philadelphia. What better way to begin any meeting at the White House, than to honor the man whose very words helped to establish the rights and freedoms of this great nation. And with an ABV: of 8.0%  one can quickly undo any prevailing tensions.
• Next we recommend some Loose Cannon Ale from Baltimore’s  Clipper City Brewing. This is the perfect mea culpa malt beverage, when one needs to atone for expressing themselves without the benefit of having all the facts.
• And finally we would close this historic gathering with a pint of  Benevolence, a unique variation  of a Belgian lambic from the Cambridge Brewing Company. Not only would this properly honor the contributions to the  community by both Sergeant Crowley and  Professor Gates; but with an ABV: of  12.6%, that which some might be reluctant to forgive – will most certainly be forgotten!

Posted by: Chris Poh

Beer Pairings for Thanksgiving Dinner

Black Turkey © Kathleen Connally

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and if you’re looking to pair beer with a traditional turkey dinner party, help is on the way courtesy of Fred Tasker at the Dallas Morning News:

Aperitif

As guests arrive, hand them something crisp and cold, light as air. They sip and whet their appetites, but don’t fill up. The world’s lagers are made for this.

•Stiegl Goldbrau Premium Lager, Stieglbrewery, Salzburg, Austria, alcohol not listed: bright golden color, big, creamy head, light flavors of malt and hops; $3.19 per 1-pint- 9-ounce bottle.

Hors d’oeuvres 

As you pass around the canapes, you give your guests pale ales, somewhat fuller in body, hoppier, able to deal with shrimp with sauce, cheese balls and the like.

•Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, California, 5.6 percent alcohol: amber in color, full-bodied, malty, hoppy, spicy; $1.60 per 12-ounce bottle.

•Lagunitas Maximus India Pale Ale, California, 7.5 percent alcohol: deep amber, brutally hoppy, with flavors of pine and citrus; $3.99 per 1 pint, 6-ounce bottle.

Dinner 

For the full, complex, fatty flavors of an all-out Thanksgiving main course, you want a muscular beer, with the hops and alcohol to cut through. The category called Belgian-style strong ales works here.

•Collaboration Not Litigation Ale, Colorado, 8.99 percent alcohol: dark brown color, sturdy beige head, starts fruity, then the powerful alcohol kicks in. It’ll handle Cajun turkey, even red meat; $8.49 per 1-pint, 6-ounce bottle.

•Ommegang Brewery Rare Vos Belgian-Style Amber Ale, Cooperstown, N.Y., 6.5 percent alcohol: coppery color, fruity, spicy, muscular, flavors of burnt sugar; $5.79 per 1-pint, 9.4-ounce bottle.

Dessert 

With beer, as with wine, the drink should be sweeter than the dessert. The following will handle pecan or pumpkin pies.

•Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, Delaware, 7 percent alcohol: a full-bodied brown ale brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, it tastes like all of them; $10.49 per 4-pack.

•Rogue Chocolate Stout, Ore., 7 per cent alcohol: Yes, they add real imported chocolate to the brew, plus oats and hops, and it tastes like all of its ingredients, with the smooth power of alcohol and a bittersweet finish; $5.79 per 1-pint, 6-ounce bottle.

Digestif 

When you mellow out after the meal, watching the game, you need something big, rich, soft and sweet to settle your stomach.

•Dogfish Head Raison d’Extra Ale, Delaware, 18 percent alcohol a big, brown ale brewed with of malt, brown sugar and raisins; $6.25 per 12-ounce bottle.

•Great Divide Brewing Old Ruffian Barleywine-Style Ale, Colorado, 10.2 percent alcohol: smooth, sweet fruit and caramel flavors give way to powerful hops; $5.29 per 1 pint, 6 ounce bottle.

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(If you get this far,  I hope you’ve taken your guests’ car keys and have the local cab company’s phone number handy.)

 Article by Fred Tasker / Links Kathleen Connally

– Posted by Kathleen Connally