Pacific Northwest … St. Pat’s without the accent
Many of you are staring at the calendar and watching the days tick by till that day comes when you regret not wearing green and your friends all proclaim in slurred speeches, Happy St. Patty’s Day.
Myself I worked in an Irish-owned pub that guaranteed they had all the usual Irish colors on draft. With names like Guinness, Smithwicks (pronounced Smithicks), Harp, and Beamish, there wasn’t an unfamiliar pour around. Oh sure for the non-beer drinker they had whiskey, scotch, and bourbons if that was your way of getting the green into ya, but in the end we all end up “happy”.
Admittedly work and being sober should never be in the same sentence on a day like this. But much like witnessing your first dead body, or a car accident, you never really forget the shock of normal human beings projecting outwardly in so many ways and from many orifices. In the end I lost the interest and realized how out of control this holiday had become to the educated and uneducated alike which is why I search for a simpler version of this holiday.
But I will cease there and say that rather than be a corporate lemming and stroll into an Irish themed or Irish owned pub, I will be sitting comfortably either at a dinner or in my own home consuming something that reflects the style without all the commercialism associated with it. Below for those that are interested is a list of the breweries and their beers that fit the style of a Guinness, a Harp, or a Killian’s (yes, its owned by Coors).
Washington
Pike Kilt Lifter Scottish Ale Seattle, WA
Ice Harbor Dry Irish Stout Kennewick, WA
Boundary Bay Dry Irish Stout Bellingham, WA
McMenamins Dry Irish Stout Mill Creek, WA
Big Al Irish Red Ale
Dick's Irish Red Ale
Walla Walla Irish Red Ale Walla Walla, WAOregon
Deschutes Obsidian Stout Bend, OR
Full Sail Keelhauler Scot’ish Hood River, OR
Rogue Kells Lager Newport, OR
Yes I left people out, but I only have one liver and damn’it and I can’t be everywhere in a year, so chime and let me know what I missed. Oh and I am quite aware of the fact I threw some scotch ales in the mix. But if you do your homework you will find that Saint Patrick was originally from Scotland (Dumbarton, Scotland) and died in Ireland (Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland).
Cheers
