In a contest that is, let’s face it, about who voters instinctively like, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg seems very likable. As Michael B. Murphy, a former Republican state senator from South Bend, Indiana, where Buttigieg serves as mayor, put it to The Daily Beast: “Even people who disagree with him on the issues walk away thinking, ‘Well, I disagree with him, but he’s not a bad guy.’”

The general impression seems to be that Buttigieg is Midwestern and down-to-earth—even with a Harvard degree and the fact he taught himself Norweigian and Dari, among other languages he speaks. But the true test of a candidate’s likability is their answer to one question: Would you want to drink a beer with that candidate? The Takeout spoke to Buttigieg by phone last week to answer this very question. We talked beer, farming, and Iowa’s “pork chop situation.” (For his stance on whether a hot dog is a sandwich, click here.) This beer reporter’s impression? Buttigieg knows his hops.

TO: You’re the mayor of a town in the Midwest and were just campaigning in rural parts of the Midwest, so I’d be curious what you’re hearing from America’s farmers and the agricultural sector. How are they feeling now, and do you have any policies to improve their lot?
PB: Yeah, absolutely. The bottom line is they’re feeling squeezed. They’ve got tariffs and this trade war that is killing a lot of farmers, especially pork and soybean farmers that we met. . . . The big thing you realize when you spend time with farmers is they do math for a living, right?Their specialty is figuring out risks and deciding what mix of crops to plant in a given year, the time when they’re going to sell and lock in their contracts, so the big thing that can really harm them is uncertainty. There’s already uncertainty from the weather, and from global commodity prices, now there’s added uncertainty from the political environment. So our initiatives are largely around first of all, more aggressive monopoly enforcement to help them get ahead. Another really big thing we’re focusing on is inviting farmers to be part of the solution on climate. I think they feel demonized often, but things like soil management and agricultural practices are actually a very big part of how we are going to solve the climate crisis. We need to encourage and pay American farmers in order to pilot some of these really promising modern agricultural techniques.

TO: A topic I cover extensively at The Takeout is beer and you come from a wonderful beer-brewing state. I was wondering what beer is in your fridge currently?
PB: Well if I’m lucky, if I haven’t emptied it out, there should be some Three Floyds waiting for me at home. Alpha King’s a good go-to. Gumballhead’s pretty tasty as well. And I think it’s from over the state line, but I’m pretty partial to Bell’s Two Hearted.
TO: So you’re a hops guy?
PB: Yeah, though I’m becoming less snobby about that as I age, realizing there’s nothing wrong with an accessible, easy-to-enjoy blonde or lager.