Skip the Green Food Colouring this St. Paddy's Day

St. Patricks Day is coming up and pitchers of green beer will be flowing in pubs all over. If you are like me and would prefer something other than green-coloured domestic beer but still want to be festive I have got a few options for you.

Half-and-Half

This is a pale ale and Guinness layered drink. To make choose your favourite pale ale and pour it aggressively into a nonic pint glass creating a dense head till about the halfway mark. Then, stick an inverted tablespoon or bar spoon into the glass and pour the Guinness on top of the spoon. The spoon will evenly disperse the Guinness on top of the pale ale creating a layered drink. This works because all though Guinness is a richly-flavoured stout it is the lighter beverage of the two. This drink was formerly called a Black and Tan but this VinePair article explains why not to call it that.

Local Irish Reds from Garrison Brewing, Propeller Brewing, and Breton Brewing

For those of us that do not have the patience to make a layered drink local breweries have us covered with the malt-forward Irish Red Ale. Garrison Irish Red and Breton Red Coat offer easy drinking ales with caramel and graham cracker-like malt character. Propeller also just released their seasonal Irish red that is in a nitro can, think Kilkenny but local!

The Lupulin Leprechaun

The goal of this cocktail was to take the base spirit Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition and both compliment it and showcase what hop character really offers. Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition is the classic triple-distilled Jameson Irish whiskey we know and love finished in barrels that had recently housed Irish Pale Ale from Franciscan Well Brewery. The result is a whiskey that takes on a lot of hop character most notably herbal, floral, grapefruit and other citrus and orchard fruits.

I chose to pair this whiskey with Green Chartreuse to amplify the herbal and spicy tones that the IPA cask offers. Lime Juice to add acidity to add citrusy undertones. Cointreau offered some sweetness to achieve balance while adding more citrusy orange notes and finally grapefruit bitters to add that signature grapefruit aroma of West Coast IPA's and hoppy bitterness we've come to know and love.

22ml Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition

22ml Green Chartreuse

22ml Lime juice

22ml Cointreau

4 Dashes of Grapefruit bitters

Garnish with a shamrock if you’re feeling extra festive!