Best Beer for St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is quickly approaching, the day when everybody is seemingly Irish. Green beads, hats, and other miscellaneous clothing will be draped from the bodies of many, and the country will soon be loud and drunk entirely too early with the enjoyment of kegs and eggs. Irish beer will fly to the shelves and taps of bars nationwide, and many will mistake watered down American domestic colored green an appropriate St. Paddy's Day libation. As a pasty, potato loving gal with plenty of Irish blood, I find this to be rather disheartening. Here, I will let you in on some fantastic Irish and Irish-style beers so that you can celebrate right.

Because I know that imports from Ireland are (quite unfortunately) can be few and far between, I've included a couple American-brewed Irish style beers as well.

Guinness

The Irish really love their stouts (further proof of my heritage). Guinness is the most popular and well known throughout the states, and for good reason. Many think of it as the stout of stouts-as in, the one we compare everything else to. It is a very mild stout, with a creamy finish and no particularly strong flavors. If it's coming from the right keg, it shouldn't be heavy or crisp. I've had good Guinness, and bad Guinness. On St. Patrick's Day, I'll throw caution to the wind.

Killian's Irish Red

This Irish Red is brewed by Coors, and therefore is really not Irish. Compared to a Bud Light with green food coloring, however, it could be the Blarney Stone. Killian's has a great, robust flavor for a highly mainstream craft brew. You can also count on it to be at pretty much any bar you could find on St. Patrick's Day. Whereas I wouldn't put it in the top 5 of any other beer list, I gladly include it here.

Murphy's

Murphy's isn't quite as accessible in all parts of the states as a Guinness or Killian's may be, but it can be found. In Ireland, however, it is quite the opposite. They make an Irish Stout and an Irish Red that are available for purchase in the United States. If you can get your hands on it, it's a good beer that has an incredible amount of history and heritage.

Smithwick's

Smithwick's is an Irish Red Ale produced by Guinness. It's a pretty good brew, and I would compare it to others of its kind. I would certainly prize it over the Killian's, and I've seen it out on tap at bars in my area-so it is fairly accessible. Again, probably wouldn't make the top of my list in terms of great beers overall, but then again I'm a staunch stout girl.

Conway's Irish Ale

Perhaps it's because I live in Northeast Ohio, but Great Lakes Brewing Company seems to do everything right, the Irish Red Ale included. Conway's Irish Ale makes up for its lack of Irish authenticity with a crisp, fresh finish. It's definitely got a bit of sweetness to it, but certainly not enough to have you running. I'd call it a crowd pleaser, even if it isn't made by Budweiser (which is no crowd pleaser when I'm present).

No matter what you're drinking this St. Patrick's Day, remember to have a blast and be safe! Oh, and you don't need an excuse to enjoy great beer-any day of the year!