Green Beer

Today marks our annual celebration of St. Patrick on which we all don our bit o’ green and those not nestled in with little tikes, head out for an evening of green beer and rowdiness.

Saturday, as was noted on my FB status, we headed out a few days early in hopes of being able to find an Irish bar at which we could a) bring our children, b) have a good meal c) pretend we were really a part of the merry making and d) have green beer. It didn’t quite work out that way. A) the bar we chose at 5:45 p.m. was already gearing up for a big night and resembled the beginnings of a frat party B) the beer was served in red plastic cups and was not green C) they were only serving a few menu items which did not include chicken nuggets, hot dogs or any other kid related fare D) our friends called to inform us their daughter had just thrown up all over herself in the backseat of the car. They managed to get her cleaned up and we did continue with our evening, however it turned out a bit different than intended: pizza and Fat Tire at California Pizza Kitchen. We had a great time and as far as the Irish aspirations, oh well, we tried. Slainte!

The really interesting thing happened when I logged into Facebook when we got home. As I mentioned, I had updated my FB status to read “Green Beer bound.” A couple of people “liked” (the new easy way to comment on FB) this and a couple liked it so much they commented. I quickly informed them that the “green beer” did not happen and sat back to peruse the happenings of my friends. One of my college buddies quickly wrote back with “Hil-you are so funny!! Fat Tire IS green beer. They are the first wind-powered brewery in America and they are local for you. How much more green can you get?? ok put some green color in it but no...” I think that was her way of saying politely that I was clueless…smile. I went to bed chuckling at the irony of my attempt at being cool and witty about drinking green beer ending up an education in sustainability!

With that, I wish you a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day and give a special Slainte shout out to Alicia who has now educated us that there is a new way to celebrate being green on St. Patrick’s Day! Excuse me while I go to the fridge for my newest Irish green – Fat Tire Ale.