Don’t drink green beer, drink “Green” beer!

A craft beer found only in Ireland

Pleeease ignore that crummy American fad/gimmick of green food coloring in cheap, fizzy macro-brewed beer today. Instead, enjoy a “Green” craft beer – brewed right here in California. For what could possibly be more “Green” than drinking local! Less ‘carbon footprint’ of course when buying local. That beer brewed locally is likely fresher and certainly traveled less — consuming fossil fuels to make into your hand. And the craft brewers of California are just by their very nature “Green” folks. The craft brewing industry is one of the most environmental conscious industries I know of, employing solar energy, fuel cell technology, water re-use and conservation and sustainable business practices. So today, buy a local beer and be Irish!

Here’s a short list of some Irish-appropriate California craft beers that are readily available:
Sierra Nevada Stout: not a Guinness-style stout, but a “California-style” stout. Dry and robust with Cascade hops.
Stone Brewing Smoked Porter: when in Ireland, the smell of burning peat is profuse everywhere! This is a perfect dark beer for St. Pat’s Day, smoky, rich and dark!
North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout: No, Rasputin was not Irish, but this beer is a beautiful, strong and rich dark stout. Blow your Guinness-drinking friends away by sharing a sip of this beer!
Your Local Brewpub: Where is the very best place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Duh! Your local brewery! Stand next to the tanks where that fresh beer in your hand was brewed. Now that is Green! Here’s a list of some local breweries surely to be serving up some tasty fun tonight:

21st Amendment Brewery Cafe  563 2nd St San Francisco
Auburn Alehosue 289 Washington St. Auburn
Bear Republic Brewing Co. 345 Healdsburg Ave Healdsburg
BJs Brewery 600 Brea Mall Dr Brea
BJs Brewery  24032 El Toro Rd Laguna Hills
BJs Brewery 461 W. Espanade Drive Oxnard
BJs Brewery  1200 Roseville Pkwy Roseville
BJs Brewery  2917 Eastland Center Dr West Covina
BJs Brewery  6424 Canoga Ave Woodland Hills
BrewBakers 7242 Heil Ave. Huntington Beach
Buffalo Bills 1082 B St Hayward
Craftsman Brewing Co. 1270 Lincoln Ave, Unit 100 Pasadena
Coronado Brewing Company 170 Orange Ave. Coronado
Dempsey’s Restaurant & Brewery 50 E Washington St. Petaluma
Eel River Brewing Co Inc   1777 Alamar Way Fortuna
Etna Brewing Co. P O Box 757 Etna
FiftyFifty Brewing Co. PO Box 9137 Truckee
Firestone Walker Brewing Co. 1400 Ramada Drive Paso Robles
Full Circle Brewing Co. Ltd. 620 F Street Fresno
Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. PO Box 879 El Granada
Hop Monk Brewery 230 Petaluma Ave., Sebastopol
Hoppy Brewing Co.   6300 Folsom Blvd Sacramento
Huntington Beach Beer Co. 201 Main St., Ste E Huntington Beach
Iron Springs Brewery 765 Center Blvd/ PO Box 906 Fairfax
Jupiter 2181 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley
Karl Strauss Brewing Co. Various locations San Diego
Kelly Bros. Brewing Co. 112 E. Yosemite Ave. Manteca
Lagunitas Brewing Co.   1280 N Mcdowell Blvd Petaluma
Left Coast/Oggi’s 1245 Puerta del Sol San Clemente
Lodi Beer Company 105 School Street  Lodi
Lost Coast Brewery 123 West Third St. Eureka
Magnolia Pub and Brewery 1398 Haight St San Francisco
Marin Brewing Co.  1809 Larkspur Landing Cir Larkspur
Moylans Brewing Co   15 Rowland Way Novato
North Coast Brewing Co 455 N Main St Fort Bragg
Pacific Coast Brewing Co 906 Washington St Oakland
Port Brewing Company Various locations San Marcos
Pyramid Breweries 901 Gilman St Berkeley
River City Brewing Co. 545 Downtown Plaza Suite 1115 Sacramento
Rubicon Brewing Company 2004 Capitol Ave Sacramento
Russian River Brewing Co 725 4th Street Santa Rosa
San Diego Brewing Co. 8111 Mira Mesa Blvd, A San Diego
San Marcos Brewery & Grill  1080 W. San Marcos Blvd, #180 San Marcos
Seabright Brewery Inc 519 Seabright Ave., Ste. 107 Santa Cruz
Schooners Grille And Brewery 4250 Lone Tree Way Antioch
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co   1075 E 20th St Chico
Six Rivers Brewery 1300 Central Ave McKinleyville
Skyscraper Brewing Company 3229 Durfee Ave El Monte
Snowshoe Brewing Co PO Box 2224 Arnold
St. Stans Brewing Co. 821 L St. Modesto
Stone Brewing Co. 1999 Citracado Parkway Escondido
Third Street Aleworks 610 Third St. Santa Rosa
Thirsty Bear Brewing Co 661 Howard St San Francisco
Triple Rock Brewing Co.  2116 Allston Way, Suite 2 Berkeley
Uncommon Brewers 303 Potrero St. STE 40-H Santa Cruz
Valley Brewing Co 157 W Adams St Stockton