None of the men made comments to the media, but appeared to be chatting amiably. Their beers were served in mugs, making it impossible to discern what brands they were drinking. After the gathering broke up, the President issued a statement thanking Gates and Crowley "for a friendly, thoughtful conversation" and said that before the meeting on the White House lawn, "I learned that the two gentlemen spent some time together listening to one another, which is a testament to them. I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart. I am confident that has happened here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode."
But beyond the stated purposes of the meeting, the event raised the question, what kind of beer? Late Wednesday, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs hinted the presidential cooler will likely be stocked with what he understood to be the two guests' own personal favoritesRed Stripe and Blue Moon. "The president will drink Bud Light," Gibbs added. Biden choice was not known.
The problem is that all three beers are products of foreign companies. Red Stripe is brewed by London-based Diageo PLC. Blue Moon is sold by a joint venture in which London-based SABMiller has a majority stake. And Bud Light is made by Anheuser-Busch, which is now known as Anheuser-Busch InBev NV after getting bought last year by the Belgian-Brazilian company InBev.
Among rival brewers, the news fell flat. "We would hope they would pick a family-owned, American beer to lubricate the conversation," Bill Manley, a spokesperson for the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., a California-based brewer, told the newspaper. Jim Koch, founder of Boston Beer Co., which brews Samuel Adams, decried "the foreign domination of something so basic and important to our culture as beer."
Genesee Brewery, Rochester, N.Y., released a statement congratulating the president for having beer at the meeting but adding: "We just hope the next time the President has a beer, he chooses an American beer, made by American workers and an American-owned brewery like Genesee."
For the past several days, David von Storch, co-founder of Capitol City Brewing Co., which owns a brewpub just a few blocks from the White House, was lobbying the administration to serve his company's Equality Ale, said the report. "What better beer to have them drink than the only beer brewed in the District of Columbia, Capitol City Brewing Co. Equality Ale," he wrote in an email he sent Tuesday to several White House staffers.
In a statement, David Peacock, president of Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, said the company "would be proud if Budweiser, Bud Light or any of our beers" is served at the White House meeting.
"It's widely know that people have sat down together over a beer to resolve differences and disputes. We're happy to know that beer continues to be a beverage that brings people together for fellowship and our beer Blue Moon may be considered for the occasion," Julian Green, a spokesperson for MillerCoors, which owns Blue Moon, told ABC News.
In general, the White House strives to showcase American food, wines and traditional fare at official meals and parties, the Journal said.
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