St. Patrick’s Day Guide To Tacoma Boys Favorite Irish Beer

Beer has long been connected to St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a tradition that goes well with cooking traditional Irish foods and celebrating the culture. St. Patrick’s Day is a religious and cultural holiday, so it’s a time to toast to Saint Patrick and honor one’s Irish heritage. Drinking beer on St. Patrick’s Day is familiar to most people. Overall, it’s celebrated in America and many other countries by wearing your best green gear and drinking lots of Irish beer. 

St. Patrick’s Day & Beer

St. Patrick’s Day is all about beer, right?! Modern St. Patrick’s Day celebrations emphasize drinking and honoring Irish heritage and cuisine. And Ireland is rich with beer and pub culture! In Dublin especially, breweries and beer have long been a standard part of Irish lifestyle and tourism. Thus, St. Patrick’s Day is a perfect time to celebrate the culture, and drink beer.

Why Drink on St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick’s Day is associated with drinking because of the religious celebration of the holiday. Historically, Lenten restrictions were put aside for Christians to honor Saint Patrick on the anniversary of his death, March 17. Drinking and eating would commence, and has since become a traditional way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Irish beer is undoubtedly a special favorite for drinkers on St. Patrick’s Day!

Tacoma Boys’ Favorite Popular Irish Beer

Why not take the chance to enjoy a tall, crisp pint of popular Irish beer on St. Patrick’s Day? No, it doesn’t have to be Irish if dark ales and lagers aren’t your thing! But Irish beer is a tasty classic for a reason. Guinness is so legendary that it’s likely the first (and maybe only) Irish beer that comes to mind. But there is so much more on the Irish beer market worth tasting. Tacoma Boys provides a wide selection of imported and domestic beer to get you started. However, there are certainly a few stand-out Irish beers worth noting.

Smithwick’s Red Ale

Refreshingly balanced, this Irish ale is light and slightly bitter with (you guessed it) a red hue. It’s hoppy, but not as thick as traditional dark Irish beers. Its namesake founder started the business quite some time ago, in the 1700s. 

Harp Lager

This Irish brew (spoiler alert: it’s a lager) tastes of barley and yeast and is somewhere right between light and full bodied. This means it’s bound to refresh you, rather than feeling thick and weighing you down.

Guinness Draught Stout

The famous dark Irish stout is a solid option that most beer drinkers may tend to enjoy. It’s said to have been produced as far back as 1759 and is now crafted in several different light and dark kinds. Smooth and dry, the draught stout is full bodied and distinctively dark.

Kaliber

This one clocks in at 0.05% ABV. From the same makers as Guinness, Kaliber is a non-alcoholic smooth and bitter Irish beer. Golden amber in color, you’ll taste slight sweetness and full lager flavor.

And Much More!

Most dark stouts and beers will do well as a stand in for one of these classic Irish beers, too. If you want to keep things local, try Black Raven Imperial Stout or Silver City Brewing Ridgetop Red Ale. Tacoma Boys’ boasts a myriad of both light and dark beers to choose from!

The Infamous Green Beer Recipe

Part of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is of course concocting the perfect green beer recipe. Simply put, green beer is beer dyed green (generally on St. Patrick’s Day). It’s part of a traditional western custom of dyeing things green on St. Patrick’s Day. The milk in the fridge, your outfit of the day, the Chicago River? Green beer is a classic too!

It’s quick and easy to make a green beer recipe at home using one of Tacoma Boys’ Irish beers. Specifically, it works best with a light-colored beer like Kaliber or a pilsner. You can simply add in a few drops of green food coloring into your pint glass. However, Tacoma Boys knows a couple other more natural ways to get it done.

• Tacoma Boys Fresh Wheatgrass: Blend the wheat grass into a liquid and add to the bottom of a cold pint glass. Pour in your light-colored brew and give it a stir!
• Fresh Spinach: If you don’t mind a slight earthy taste, use fresh spinach in the same way as wheatgrass. 
• Matcha: Powdered matcha adds just a touch of that green tea flavor. Add a 1/4 teaspoon at a time to a pint glass filled with Irish beer and stir.
• Spirulina: The powdered green algae is a bit darker than matcha. Stir in a bit at a time until you get that dark green hue.
• Get creative! If you have another fruit or vegetable juice or powder in mind, now’s your chance to give it a shot.

Shop Our Selection

Next time you stop in to Tacoma Boys, be sure to browse our wide selection of domestic and imported brews. And if you ever have a question or need help finding something special, don’t ever hesitate to ask! While you’re in, you can stock up on all the ingredients and supplies you need for a St. Patrick’s Day feast. Whether corned beef and cabbage or meat and potatoes is the plan, Tacoma Boys has plenty to enjoy. 

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