St. Patrick's Day Special: Buying Green Beer

Green beer is a novelty drink often consumed on St. Patrick's Day. While it is not an Irish tradition, it has become synonymous with the holiday in the US. The drink is typically made by adding a few drops of green or blue food colouring to a light-coloured beer. The result is a bright green beverage that is perfect for those looking to get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit. If you're looking to buy green beer, your best bet is to check your local bars, especially Irish pubs, as they are most likely to serve this festive brew. Alternatively, you can easily make it at home by adding food colouring to your favourite beer.

Where to buy green beer for St. Patrick's Day

Green beer has become synonymous with St. Patrick's Day, but the tradition of drinking it is purely American. It is believed that the tradition was started in 1914 by an Irish-American physician, Thomas H. Curtain, who added blue dye to beer for his New York clubhouse. If you want to get your hands on some green beer for St. Patrick's Day, here are some options:

Local Bars and Pubs

The most reliable way to get green beer is to check your local bars and pubs. Many bars will serve green beer to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. For example, if you're in South Florida, spots like Waxy's Irish Pub in Fort Lauderdale, O'Shea's Irish Pub in West Palm Beach, and Finnegan's Way in Miami are known to serve green beer. The Tilted Kilt restaurant chain also often features an Irish Hooley menu for the month of March, which includes green beer.

Make Your Own

If you don't want to go out, you can easily make green beer at home. All you need is your favourite light-coloured beer (IPAs, pilsners, and lagers work best) and green or blue food colouring. Simply add a few drops of food colouring to your beer, and you're good to go! You can adjust the amount of food colouring to control the shade of green.

Beers with Green Bottles or Cans

If you don't have access to green food colouring or local bars serving green beer, you can always opt for beers with green bottles or cans. Beers like Heineken, Rolling Rock, Stella Artois, and Genesee Cream Ale are sold in green containers, so you can still get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit without the green-coloured beer.

How to make green beer at home

Green beer is a fun and novel way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and it's surprisingly easy to make at home. All you need is a light-coloured beer and some food colouring.

Choosing the Right Beer

Any beer will work when making green beer, but some will produce a brighter green colour than others. For the best colour, it's recommended to use a light beer. Popular American lagers like Budweiser, Miller, Busch, or Coors are a good choice, but there are also many great pale-coloured craft beers, German pilsners, and other higher-quality beers available today.

If you want to experiment with darker beers, you'll get an interesting effect. Stouts and other dark beers will not turn emerald green, but the body of the beer will take on a slight evergreen hue, and the foam will pick up the food colouring and turn green (though this may not last long).

Choosing the Right Food Colouring

You can use green food colouring, but for a brighter, more brilliant green, it's recommended to use blue food colouring. This is because the blue dye will mix with the light yellow hue of the beer to create a vibrant green colour.

Putting It All Together

To make green beer, simply add a few drops of food colouring to a clear glass. You can add between one and five drops, depending on how green you want your beer to be. Then, pour in about 12 ounces of your chosen beer and serve immediately.

A Brief History of Green Beer

The tradition of drinking green beer is said to have originated in 1914 when an Irish-American physician, Dr. Thomas H. Curtain, added blue dye to beer for a St. Patrick's Day party at his New York clubhouse. The concoction became a hit, and soon spread across the country. While it's not an Irish tradition per se, it has become a mainstream symbol of the Irish holiday.

The history of green beer

Green beer is a novelty drink that has become synonymous with St. Patrick's Day. Although it is often consumed during the Irish holiday, it is not an Irish tradition but an American one. In fact, it was only as late as 1985 that people in Ireland were still being introduced to the drink.

The origins of green beer can be traced back to 1914 when an Irish-American physician named Dr Thomas H. Curtin (also reported as Thomas Hayes Curtin or Thomas Curtain) created it for a St. Patrick's Day party at the Schnerer Club of Morrisania in the Bronx, New York. Curtin's beer was made by adding blue fabric or textile dye to the brew, resulting in a deep green colour. The recipe was a hit with the crowd and soon became a mainstream symbol of the holiday.

However, Curtin's original recipe using textile dye is not commonly used today due to safety concerns. Instead, green beer is typically made by mixing light-coloured beer with blue or green food colouring. The blue dye mixes with the natural yellow hue of the beer to create a bright green colour.

While green beer has become a popular tradition, it is worth noting that the term "green beer" originally had a different meaning. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, "green beer" referred to beer that was too young and had not fully fermented. This underaged beer could make people sick, and beer companies would warn against its consumption.

Green beer alternatives

Green beer is typically associated with St. Patrick's Day and is usually made by adding green or blue food colouring to light-coloured beers. However, if you are looking for alternatives to green beer, there are plenty of options to consider.

Firstly, if you are looking for a beer that is green but does not contain any artificial colouring, you could try a beer made with spirulina. In 2005, Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware used the blue-green algae spirulina to give their German lager a green sheen. Alternatively, you could opt for a beer with a green bottle or can, such as Heineken, Rolling Rock, Stella Artois, or Genesee Cream Ale. These beers will keep you in the St. Patrick's Day spirit, even if the beer itself is not green.

If you are looking for a beer that is more traditional to Ireland, you might want to try a pint of Guinness or a shot of Irish whiskey. Other Irish beers to consider include Irish Red Ale, Irish Extra Stout, Irish Cream Ale, or a Foreign Extra Stout. If you are looking for something with a lower ABV, you could try an Irish Lager or a Smithwick's Irish Red Ale, which is available in bottles and has an ABV of 3.8%.

For those who are looking for a non-alcoholic or lower-calorie alternative to green beer, there are a few options to consider. You could try adding bitters to your sparkling water, or drinking cold brew coffee or kombucha. If you are looking for something with a more bitter taste, you could try making hop tea or infusing other ingredients such as apple skin, ginger, cucumber, or citrus zest into your drink.

Green beer and food pairings

Green beer is a novelty drink that has become synonymous with St. Patrick's Day. The tradition of drinking green beer began in 1914 when an Irish-American physician, Thomas H. Curtain, added blue dye to beer at his New York clubhouse. The drink has since become a symbol of the Irish holiday, despite not being an Irish tradition.

When it comes to food pairings with green beer, there are a few things to consider. Firstly, green beer is typically made by adding food colouring to light-coloured beers. The flavour of the beer remains unchanged, only the colour is altered. Therefore, food pairings for regular beer can also be applied to green beer.

• Spicy food: The crisp and refreshing taste of a light beer pairs well with spicy dishes. Wheat beers, with their smooth texture and light carbonation, are also a good choice to balance the heat of spicy foods.
• Salads: The lightness and crispness of a light beer complement salad dishes, especially those with light citrus dressings and fruity flavours.
• Seafood: Light beers go well with seafood, especially high-fat, oily fish like salmon and tuna. The bitterness of the beer offers a pleasing contrast to the sweetness of the fish.
• Mexican food: Wheat beers and India pale ales (IPAs) are known to pair well with Mexican cuisine. The carbonation and bitterness of these beers can cut through the richness and spiciness of Mexican dishes.
• Barbecue: Amber ales and darker beers complement barbecue dishes, especially pulled pork. The malty sweetness and roasted flavours of these beers go well with the smoky, charred flavours of barbecue.
• Desserts: For sweeter dishes, such as chocolate cake or crème brûlée, a darker beer like a stout or porter is a good choice. The roasted malt flavours and hints of chocolate and coffee in these beers complement the dessert's flavours.
• Cheese: Beers with a strong malt character, like brown ales, pair well with cheese, especially pungent cheeses like Stilton and blue cheese. The sweetness of the malt contrasts nicely with the saltiness and pungency of the cheese.

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