First Lady Michelle Obama tends to the first-ever beehive on the White House’s South Lawn, and White House chef Sam Kass recently released where some of the honey is going. President Obama is a novice beer maker, and honey is the secret ingredient in his brews.

In a blog post titled “Ale to the Chief,” Kass responded to requests from thousands of curious petitioners to the White House’s website. He released the recipes for two different beers that the White House has perfected over the past year: White House Honey Ale and White House Honey Porter.

According to Kass, the honey does not sweeten the beer, but causes it to smell “rich.” The two recipes were released on Saturday, Sept. 1, with the 2012 Presidential election just a few months away.

President Obama is not the first commander-in-chief to brew his own beer, but he is the first to do so in a few hundred years. As far as records can tell, he is the first U.S. president to brew in the actual White House. George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson shared a passion for brewing beer, but evidence indicates they did so in their personal estates.

Along with the two recipes, Kass posted a four and a half minute video on the process of brewing the presidential beer. He also commented on his surprise that the two beers ended up being such hits, “since none of us had ever brewed beer before.”

With the election so close, critics are viewing this blog release as a well-timed shot at Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Romney’s Mormon beliefs prevent him from consuming alcohol. They say President Obama is trying to appear as more of a common person than his opponent.

President Obama, according to Kass, was simply inspired by the thousands of men and women across the country that brew their own beer.