American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
St. Patrick’s Day…
Just saying the words brings up the memory of the taste of that tall emerald glass of mass-produced lager or the imagery of people pinching you because you forgot to wear that kitschy “Kiss Me I’m Irish” t-shirt.
But have you ever thought about why it is that we are subjected to the stained teeth and tacky green apparel?
Obviously, the green comes from Ireland: the lush landscapes, the emerald isles, blah blah blah.
And we all know that the Irish like to drink (at least that’s what the Scottish and the British tell us), but why throw them all together in one heaping helping of hops?
Well, we can’t stay content with keeping our beers and our green leisure suit jackets separate forever, so we need to evolve like the high-class drinking people that we all are.
You see, Saint Patrick used to use the shamrock’s three leaves to explain to the inhabitants about the holy trinity, which became a main part of the celebration as members of the church wear shamrocks to remember him.
This led to green clothing and, eventually, these traditions brought to America by immigrants resulted in the Chicago River being dyed green.
But what about the beer?
Again, that came from the shamrocks. At parades and other celebrations, it was a custom to “drown the shamrock.” At local pubs, revelers would pay their respects to Saint Patrick by dropping a shamrock into their drink and downing the whole glass, lucky leaf and all. It was only a matter of time until someone’s ingenuity led to infusing the full glass of liquid with the color of the shamrock.
Is it bad to drink this lime colored concoction?
If you dislike the after-effects of your body processing it, then, yes, it is. But for the most part, a little food coloring is harmless, as long as it’s in a brew that you enjoy drinking.
This St. Patrick’s Day we’ll be drinking a Northwest IPA, maybe a slightly tinted Ninkasi or a green Boundary Bay.
But regardless which local brewery gets our business, you can be sure of one thing . . .We’ll be calling a cab.
