St. Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17 each year. It originated as a commemoration of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and has grown into a global celebration of Irish culture and heritage. Some of the key symbols and traditions associated with St. Patrick’s Day include wearing green, parades, Irish music and dance, shamrocks, and Irish food and drink.
When it comes to beverages, there are a few iconic drinks that people associate with St. Patrick’s Day festivities. These include Irish beer, Irish whiskey, Irish coffee, and green beer. Of these options, the drink most strongly linked to St. Patrick’s Day celebrations is Irish beer.
The History of St. Patrick’s Day
To understand why Irish beer has become so intertwined with St. Patrick’s Day, it helps to look at the history of the holiday. St. Patrick’s Day has its origins in the 5th century when the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, died on March 17. Saint Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland and banishing the snakes from the island. While this legend may not be completely factual, it contributed to Saint Patrick’s growing fame and veneration in Ireland.
By the 9th and 10th centuries, the March 17 feast day celebrating Saint Patrick had become well established. Irish immigrants later brought St. Patrick’s Day traditions to America, holding the first recorded celebration in Boston in 1737. From there, annual St. Patrick’s Day parades and festivities began cropping up in more American cities with large Irish populations.
Over time, these local celebrations expanded into larger cultural events celebrating Irish heritage through food, music, dance, parades, and symbols like the shamrock and wearing green. They also centered around Irish pubs and taverns where revellers would gather to eat, drink and be merry. This connection to the pub environment allowed Irish beer to become strongly intertwined with these St. Patrick’s Day rituals and traditions.
The Role of Irish Pubs and Taverns on St. Patrick’s Day
To fully grasp the integral role of Irish beer for St. Patrick’s Day, it helps to take a closer look at the history of Irish pubs and taverns:
- Public houses have existed in Ireland since the Middle Ages, serving as important community gathering places.
- Irish pubs took on a heightened role after the pub licensing system began in Ireland in 1657.
- Irish pubs and taverns were central meeting spots for political organizing and Irish nationalist discussions in the 18th and 19th centuries.
- When Irish immigrants came to America, particularly after the Irish Potato Famine in the mid-1800s, they sought to recreate the pub environment by opening Irish taverns and pubs.
- These Irish-American bars and pubs became hot spots for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in cities like Boston, New York City, and Chicago.
Given this history, it’s easy to see why St. Patrick’s Day festivities have always centered around Irish pubs and taverns. These public houses created a natural environment for celebrating Irish culture and heritage through song, dance, food, and especially drink.
The Role of Irish Beers and Ales in Irish Pubs
Part of recreating the authentic Irish pub experience in America involved importing and serving classic Irish beers and ales. Here are some of the key facts about the role of beer in Irish pubs:
- Beer has been brewed in Ireland since around the 9th century CE.
- The introduction of hops in the 16th and 17th centuries allowed Irish brewers to create hopped beers and ales.
- Stouts like the iconic Guinness began gaining popularity in Irish pubs starting in the late 1700s.
- Ales, lagers, and stouts from brands like Guinness, Smithwick’s, Harp, Kilkenny, and Murphy’s became pub staples.
- Ordering “a pint” at an Irish pub generally means a pint of Irish beer like Guinness Draught or Smithwick’s Ale.
As you can see, beer came to dominate the Irish pub drinking experience. Whether at pubs in Ireland or Irish bars in America, ordering a pint of ale or stout was part and parcel of the culture. When Irish immigrants opened pubs and taverns in the U.S. to celebrate St Patrick’s Day, serving Irish beer was an essential part of making patrons feel at home.
The Custom of Drinking Green Beer for St. Patrick’s Day
One more link between Irish beer and St. Patrick’s Day is the development of green beer. In the early 20th century, revelers started getting into the St. Patrick’s Day spirit by adding green food coloring to their beer to make it green. While green beer may not be authentically Irish, this colorful concoction quickly caught on as a fun and festive drink for St. Paddy’s Day celebrations.
The first known commercial batch of green beer was brewed in 1914 by Dr. Thomas H. Curtin at the Schnerer Brothers Brewing Company of New York City. Throughout the 20th century, green beer became increasingly tied to raucous St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, especially in the U.S. This unique beverage provided a literal interpretation of the old St. Patrick’s Day mantra, “Everyone’s Irish today!”
Why Irish Beer Became so Linked to St. Patrick’s Day
Given this historical and cultural context, Irish beer became so ingrained with St. Patrick’s Day for several intertwining reasons:
- St. Patrick’s Day celebrations originated in Irish pubs and taverns where beer was always flowing.
- Irish immigrants wanted to recreate the feel of home by drinking Irish stouts, lagers and ales at Irish pubs in America.
- Ordering Irish beers let patrons celebrate their Irish pride and feel connected to their heritage.
- St. Patrick’s Day fell during Lent when many gave up hard liquor, so beer was a logical choice.
- Green beer combined Irish beer with the color associated with St. Patrick’s Day.
Over time, having a pint of Irish beer just became ingrained in St. Patrick’s Day social rituals and cultural traditions among the Irish diaspora. Even Americans with little Irish ancestry have learned to associate Irish beers like Guinness with St. Patrick’s Day due to decades of commercials, advertisements, movies, and media coverage showing Irish beers as essential St. Paddy’s Day libations.
Other Irish Drinks Beyond Beer
While Irish beer may be the quintessential St. Patrick’s Day drink, it is certainly not the only Irish beverage associated with the holiday. Here are some other Emerald Isle drinks that often flow on March 17th:
Irish Whiskey
Irish whiskey like Jameson, Bushmills, Tullamore Dew, and Powers hold a storied place in Irish pubs and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Irish coffee combining whiskey, coffee, sugar, and thick cream is a delicious and warming St. Patrick’s Day treat.
Irish Cream Liqueurs
The most iconic Irish cream liqueur is Baileys Original Irish Cream. Many revelers enjoy mixing Baileys with coffee for an indulgent Irish coffee or into Irish cream cocktails.
Irish Stout Cocktails
Creative pubs have dreamed up cocktails like Irish Car Bombs and Dublin Handshakes blending stouts like Guinness with Irish whiskey or Irish cream. Not authentically Irish, but definitely festive!
Non-Alcoholic Drinks
St. Patrick’s Day revelers looking for non-alcoholic options can quench their thirst with soft drinks like Finche, a non-alcoholic Irish stout, or Ireland’s mineral water, Ballygowan.
The Bottom Line
While other Irish beverages make appearances, Irish beer, especially stouts like Guinness, remain the quintessential beverage of St. Patrick’s Day. The deep historical connection between Irish pub culture and Irish brews has intertwined them with this global celebration of Irish identity. So when St. Patrick’s Day comes around, no drink feels more authentic to the spirit and cheer of the holiday than raising a pint of Irish beer. Sláinte!