March’s Recipe of the Month: Green Beer

The greenest of all the holidays is approaching. You know, the one where you are actually supposed to pinch someone if they aren’t green? (If only that was allowed every day!)

This St. Patrick’s Day, we challenge you to keep the green in green beer – and we don’t mean by a droplet of food coloring. We mean by cheers-ing Ireland with a bit of organic brew. Hey, you didn’t have to ask us twice to do the research – we went straight away and found some green brews to try and we’re here with the results!

What we chose

When at the market, we looked for beers with 2 qualities: ones that had a little round USDA Organic sticker (see photo above) and ones that were a bit more limited in stock (you know, because they were so good that people were actually buying them!). Now, we will admit, some of these beers weren’t exactly the *cheapest* (also see photo above), but many were made locally and we felt good about that. We settled upon 3 fine beers:

Tree Hugger Porter by Laurelwood Brewery
With its clean and simple design and intriguing eco-sensitive beer names (like “Free Range Red Ale”), the Laurelwood Brewery’s Tree Hugger Porter turned out to be a high quality porter. It was very dark, chocolately, and smooth, with just the right amount of carbonation and bitters. A good sipping beer to go along with some Irish corned beef.

Mateveza by Mendocino Brewing Company
Caffeinated Beer!? Is it actually true? Let’s just say we were buzzing after this cold delicious brew. The Organic Mateveza is beer brewed with yerba mate, the source of the popular South American caffeinated herbal tea. If you know the taste of yerba mate, you’ll recognize it right away. It’s kindof woody and a bit grassy, but mixed well and provides a refreshing pick me up. More for those who like beer adventures.

Triple Exultation by Eel River Brewing Company
Strong, red, and beautiful, this one poured out like dark honey and tasted a bit like it too. You might be able to taste the raisins and sour cherries coming through. Yes, this is the beer you want to pour in a Chimay glass. It’s a bit more expensive (on the $6 side) but strong so it’s worth it. Great for an after Irish feasting drink.

Some other St. Patrick’s day greening tips:

If you’re throwing a drinking party with your Leprechaun friends, try buying in bulk. Yes, we mean keg or larger bottles. A lot of the organic beers we found came in tasty 16 oz sizes. Much better than the measely 12 ozers you’re used to.
Try serving with the cups in your cabinet. No need to buy tons of one-time keg cups – any beer stein or coffee mug just does the same thing.
Jig as much as possible. It’s fun. And that’s what being green is also all about

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!