Historically, March 17th (or the Saturday before) is a special day when you don’t have to feel bad about day drinking; the social stigmas surrounding it are completely ignored.
Obviously, we suggest that you make responsible choices while drinking. But, you still need to decide what to buy for the St. Patrick’s Day Festivities. There’s nothing wrong with purchasing one of the usual suspects. Guinness, Harp, Smithwick’s, Murphy’s Irish Stout, Beamish, and Kilkenny Irish Cream are perfectly acceptable choices, but we believe that St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to branch out and try something new.
This is our list of the best alternatives to the usual St. Patrick’s Day beers:
The Best Beers For St. Patrick’s Day That Aren’t Guinness
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Samuel Adams Irish Red (Boston Beer Company)
Few American cities celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the way the folks in Boston do. The Boston Beer Company is one of the most well-known breweries in the US and Jim Koch and his team have been crafting brews there since 1984. Samuel Adams Irish Red is their classic offering for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a very drinkable, malty beer with a sweet finish. At 5.8% ABV, you can definitely feel okay imbibing a few of these on March 17th.
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Irish Style Lager (Rogue Ales)
Oregon’s Rogue Ales is well-known for its exceptional beers. From Dead Guy to Voodoo Donut Bacon Maple Ale, Rogue excels at everything they do. They even make their own spirits, hard ciders and sodas. Their offering for St. Patrick’s Day is no different. This smooth, crisp pale European style pale lager is the perfect change of pace after a creamy Guinness. At 5% ABV, you can definitely feel comfortable enjoying more than one of these.
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Conway’s Irish Ale (Great Lakes Brewing)
Cleveland is well-known as the city that made Lebron James a household name. Other than that, the city really doesn’t get a lot of respect throughout the US. The fact that the city is home to Great Lakes Brewing should be enough to return them to respectability. Their Irish red ale is 6.5% ABV and was brewed to honor the grandfather of one of the owners. He was a Cleveland police officer and this sweet, malty beer is brewed to remember the hard work he did for the city he loved.
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Milk Stout Nitro (Left Hand Brewing)
Located in the beer mecca of Colorado, Left Hand Brewing is renowned for their innovative, exciting beers including Sawtooth Ale, 400 Pound Monkey IPA, and Black Jack Porter. Their foray into the stout world includes Milk Stout and Milk Stout Nitro, a sweet stout that carries strong roasted malt and chocolate flavors. At 6% ABV, this beer should be enjoyed slowly and savored to enjoy all that a milk stout has to offer. In order to get the most out of this beer, the folks at Left Hand suggest that it is poured vertically, straight down into a glass (that's right, just dump it right in) in order to ensure the maximum thick and creamy nitro-bubble head.
Note: If you pour non-nitro beers in this manner, you'll have quite the mess on your hands. Remember this.
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Storm King Stout (Victory Brewing Company)
The crew at Pennsylvania’s Victory Brewing Company enjoys creating beer that pushes the limits. Storm King Stout is one such brew. At 9.2% ABV, this stout should be imbibed slowly and with a lot of respect. This is not a chugging beer. The beer is full of rich, chocolate, malted flavor that is complemented by a surprisingly huge hop aroma. It pairs well with rich foods like smoked ribs, brisket, pulled pork or corned beef and cabbage.
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Bourbon County Stout (Goose Island Beer Company)
Few events will make the average person stand around waiting in a line all day. The only two that come to mind are the release of a new iPhone and the release of a new Bourbon County beer. Bourbon County Stout is aged in bourbon barrels and has strong chocolate, vanilla and caramel flavors. If you can find a way to get your hands on one, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better stout for St. Patrick’s Day. You will only need one bottle, though. This stout checks in at a very potent 14.2% ABV.
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TenFidy (Oskar Blues Breweries)
Oskar Blues is another brewery that seems to do no wrong. Every new release is awaited with proverbial baited breath. If you need a break from their super new, hoppy Pinner, grab a TenFidy. Unlike most stouts, this 10.5% ABV brew’s chocolate, caramel, toffee and coffee flavors mask a formidable 98 IBUs. This is the perfect St. Patrick’s Day beer from the reveler who can’t decide between an IPA and a stout.
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Celtic Ale (Harpoon Brewery)
Harpoon is like a talented younger brother to the Boston Beer Company. This Boston brewery is most widely known for their summer offerings UFO and UFO White. But, they make great brews all year long. Their Celtic Ale is a very drinkable 5.4% ABV Irish Red Ale packed with malty, hoppy, rich flavor in every sip.
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Brian Boru Old Irish Red (Three Floyds Brewing Company)
Brian Boru was an Irish High King. He was in charge of all the Gaelic people in the late 900’s and early 1000’s. Three Floyds created this 5.5% ABV Irish red ale in his honor. A little hoppier than most Irish Red’s, Brian Boru is full of citrus, pine, caramel and toffee flavors.
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Werewolf (Newcastle)
It might seem like this beer is more at home at Halloween, but it is an Irish red ale. At 4.5% ABV, you won’t have to feel bad about knocking back a few of these sweet, toasty, caramel flavored brews. It might not be a traditional St. Patrick’s Day song, but I believe it should be a requirement to blast Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” while you drink this beer.
