John Hickenlooper, the nation's first brewer-turned-governor, is a bit skeptical of President Obama's newly disclosed home brew recipes.

Reuters

CHARLOTTE -- Before he became a politician, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper was a beer entrepreneur. In 1988, having failed at his first career, geology, he founded Denver's Wynkoop Brewing Company. The first brew-pub in the Rocky Mountain West, it helped spawn the national craze for brew-pubs and craft beer that continues today. "I'm the first brewer who's ever been a governor, unless [you count] Sam Adams," Hickenlooper says. "He was the governor of Massachusetts, but it's unclear whether he really brewed commercially."

Recently, the White House released the recipes for the home brews President Obama has been enjoying. So what does Hickenlooper, clearly an expert on such matters, think?

The governor has taken a look at the recipes but hasn't had a chance to test them himself, he told me. But he's a bit skeptical based on what he's seen.

"He's using honey in the beer recipes, largely, I think, because they've got an apiary," Hickenlooper noted. "What that does is it makes it a smoother beer. It's none of my business and I don't want to criticize the White House chef, but I think maybe they could use a little less honey. One recipe I'm pretty sure would be better without the honey and the other one I think would be. A little bit less honey would be nice."