* White House beer served on the campaign trail
* Honey ale beer prepared by White House chefs
* Romney abstains from alcohol
WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has
stocked up on a new all-American campaign prop -- White
House-brewed beer.
During his bus tour across the battleground state of Iowa,
the president on Tuesday gave a bottle of the brew, known as
White House Honey Ale, to a patron of a Knoxville, Iowa, coffee
shop when the subject of beer came up.
While it was the first time the branded beer grabbed wide
attention from the press corps on the campaign trail, a White
House official said the president and first lady have made a
habit of occasionally traveling with bottles of the beer made at
a White House small brewery.
The beer, which comes in both a light and dark variety, is
made by the White House chefs who use traditional beer-brewing
methods.
The honey portion of the drink is taken from first lady
Michelle Obama's garden beehive near the White House Kitchen
Garden on the south lawn.
Taxpayers are not footing the bill for the beer, as both the
cost of the equipment and the cost of brewing the beer is paid
for by the Obamas personally, the official said.
Beer has been a common theme for Obama on the campaign trail
this week.
The president told supporters at an event in Waterloo, Iowa,
on Tuesday that he had enjoyed a beer along with a pork chop at
the Iowa State Fair. That prompted an audience member to yell
out "Four more beers?"
"It's true, at the State Fair, instead of saying 'four more
years,' they were saying, 'four more beers.' So I bought him
four more beers. Told him he had to register to vote, though, to
get one of the beers," Obama told a laughing crowd.
Connecting with the beer drinkers' vote is a tactic not used
by Obama's Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, a Mormon who does
not drink alcohol.
HISTORY OF WHITE HOUSE AND BOOZE
The White House Honey Ale started making appearances at
White House events in 2011.
The Obamas kept it in stock at the White House mainly for
special events, including this past year's Super Bowl Party.
Since colonial times, those occupying the Oval Office have
been known to drink with a few presidential exceptions,
including George W. Bush who swore off alcohol by the time he
reached the White House.
Garrett Peck, an expert who has written books on the
country's history with alcohol, was unsure if any of Obama's
predecessors had a White House brand of their favorite drink,
but as drinking has become mainstream, he has seen more
presidents and presidential candidates embrace public drinking.
(Additional reporting by Lauren French; Editing by Cynthia
Osterman)
