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David Cameron, Barack Obama: just chillin' in Toronto

President, prime minister boost fortunes of local beers

You’d kill for this kind of publicity, be it for cars, cologne, cognac, let alone a humble beer brand. British prime minister David Cameron and US president Barack Obama took a moment for a good ‘ole photo opportunity at the G20 summit in Canada, settling a bet from the England-US World Cup tie. The loser was to buy the winner a beer; a 1-1 draw led to an exchange of brews.

There’s not too much to read into the politics of the brands chosen; each leader brought along a beer from their constituencies, with Hobgoblin from Wychwood Brewery based in Cameron’s Whitney riding traded for Goose Island’s 312 Urban Wheat Ale at the heart of Obama’s Chicago hometown.

(But think back to other occasions, as when Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts was the Democrat’s presidential nominee and the Boston Red Sox were playing in baseball’s World Series. For that photo opportunity Kerry chose to drink Budweiser rather than a beer from the Boston Beer Company – did craft beers not play well with the ordinary voter? In a strange twist, Kerry is now co-sponsoring a bill that will halve beer duty for smaller producers, to $3.50 from $7 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels produced each year.)

In any case, Obama’s embracing of Hobgoblin’s dark, smoky charms has worked wonders for the sales team. The brewery has been working double shifts since the beer exchange, with orders for Hobgoblin flooding into Wychwood from the United States.

You can't help but think there are 18 other world leaders who missed a trick here - and there's still time as the semi-finals loom large for German, Spanish, Dutch and Uruguayan brewers to get in on the act.

(Update 9th July)

Word from Goose Island suggests the politically savvy within Washington's beltway have taken note of Obama's beer choice. Goose Island chief operating officer Tony Bowker reports that sales of 312 in Washington DC were up 60% in June over the same month in 2009. Overall sales in the nation's capital are up 140% year-to-date off an admittedly low base

And beer lovers in Britain will be able to savour 312 soon - importer James Clay will begin distribution of the brand in August.