Just say No to Green Beer

Today is St. Patrick's day, and like many other Americans, you may be tempted to drink beer that has blue food coloring in it. Please don't. There are far better craft beer options out there.Need more convincing? Well, put off your drinking until Saturday for Colorado Craft Beer Week. For those who don't know, Colorado Craft Beer Week runs March 18 to 25, and many breweries are putting on some fun events to celebrate. There are so many great craft options coming up this next week that aren't some cheap yellow fizzy water with blue food coloring in it.To celebrate, Red Leg Brewing is tapping some super special casks. Here's their schedule for the next week:Saturday, March 18 - Ginger Cardamom Amber FirkinSunday March 19 - Carrot Cake Brown PinFriday March 24 – Basil Ginger IPA PinSaturday March 25 - Coconut Lime Stout Firkin[x_accordion id="fun-fact"][x_accordion_item title="I know a craft brewery made a green beer before!"]Yes, Dogfish Head brewed a beer in 2006 that took a different approach in making the beer appear green. Their version was a Dortmunder style beer with a bunch of spirulina added, giving it a "delightful green and a subtle organic aroma." According to Dogfish, "We brewed this beer once - turns out it wasn't at the top of our list of successes!" Don't expect to find Verdi Verdi Good on the shelf this evening.[/x_accordion_item] [/x_accordion]So even though you may not find a green beer at a craft brewery, you're definitely going to find some awesome styles around this next week. Fieldhouse is pulling out all the stops for this next week with different beers every day between Monday and Friday.Monday - Raspberry wheat tapping at 5pmTuesday - Lime Kölsch and a taco from McCabes for $8 while tacos last. Tapping at 5pm.Wednesday - Test Tap: Peanut Butter Stout 5pmThursday - Double IPAFriday - Peach-O Sour tapping at 5pm[x_accordion][x_accordion_item title="But green beer is the ultimate way to celebrate St Patrick!"] You might think this, but techincally, it's not even Irish! Au contrare, green beer was originally concocted by New York Professor Thomas H. Curtin in 1914. He is said to have added one drop of "wash blue," a bluing agent used most commonly in laundry to turn the otherwise yellowish beer green. These days, food coloring is added to fizzy yellow beer, which we imagine doesn't taste much better than what was imbibed in 1914. If you absolutely have to have green beer, bring your own food coloring and tint your craft beer green.[/x_accordion_item] [/x_accordion]If you only pick one event during Colorado Craft Beer Week to go to, make sure it's Colorado Pint Day on Wednesday! (or head to Collaboration Fest on Saturday, that's ok as well)The local places that will be hosting the event are Bristol, Castle Rock Beer Co, Cerberus, Pikes Peak, and Rockyard. Remember, $1 from every pint will go to the Colorado Brewers Guild. If you need a list of all the breweries hosting the event, head here.If it's a nice hearty stout you're craving and nothing above hits the spot, Head to Bristol next Thursday for a special flight of Winter Warlock including Warlock on CO2, Warlock on Nitro, Wireless Warlock, Warlock infused with OZO coffee, and Cask Warlock aged with chocolate and vanilla. The tasting costs $12 per person and it's available only in the Bristol Pub.So as you plan your evening, make sure you think hard about the week ahead (head here for a full listing of events that are taking place) and take the time to enjoy an evening with friends. If you do drink some beer, try to drink a local craft beer — not some green beer you'll regret a day later. Cheers![tribe_events view="photo" date="2017-03-18"]