St. Patty’s Day & the History of Beer!

By Chef Liz A

St. Patrick’s day is almost here and… I want to talk about beer.

I’m not going in depth about how to drink beer, because if you’re celebrating St. Patty’s Day, you most likely already know how to do that.

Let’s go deeper.

Today, Guinness is served at almost every bar either on tap or in a can. Irish beer has been around for over 5,000 years and is widely popular, however, beer itself has been around for much longer than that.

Beer was not invented, but discovered around 10,000 B.C. as a result of the Agricultural Revolution in Egypt, fermentation was an accidental by-product of gathering wild grains.

The manufacturing of beer was an active choice and the ancient Egyptians produced and consumed it in huge volumes. (Can we blame them?)

It was so essential it was treated principally as a food, consumed daily and in great quantities at religious festivals and celebrations.

Monks who came to the Mediterranean for their missionary work brought back this knowledge and started making beer in Europe, since hops aren’t native to the region and hard to grow, Barley was used instead.

The ale brewed by the monks was flavored using herbs, particularly gentian, flower root known to help with digestion.

During their Lenten fasting , the monks would drink beer and give it the name “liquid bread”.

Monasteries dominated beer production.

According to legend, even St. Patrick had a private brewer, a priest named Mescan.

It wasn’t until the 18th century that brewing became commercialized. Guinness, now one of the most popular Breweries in the world, was established in the mid 1700’s making ales.

By 1799 the founder, Arthur Guiness, decided to focus on porters which are much darker and more robust in flavor, and created one of the most beloved and well known styles in the world.  

It’s easy to drink beer but it’s more fun to cook with it.

Hops and aromatics create wonderfully hearty dishes like stews, and are great in Corned Beef.

Beer can also be used to make breads and desserts.

I love having excuses to cook with beer and St. Patrick’s day is one of the best times to utilize this versatile ingredient.

Similar to wine, beer can compliment or ruin a meal if you don’t know what you're doing, so, here is your quick guide!

What beer to cook with 101

• Wheat Beers: Chicken & Seafood
• Ales, Porters, Stouts: Pork, Beef, Lamb, Dark Stouts go great with chocolate, just saying.
• Belgian Ales- Hearty Meat & Game
• Nut Brown Ales- Stews & Cheesy dishes like Mac & Cheese (check out my blog on that bad boy and Janice’s instagram video)
• Fruity Beers- Desserts
• Light Lager- Beer Bread, Frying
• IPA’s- just don’t, they’re gross. I beg you.

I’ve been told by my team, that they disagree about IPA’s, but this is my blog.

Did you know?

We are able to create entire menus that incorporate beer in each meal one way or another and have it flow seamlessly.  Ask your chef how we can incorporate this ancient wonder into your next meal!

The ideal St. Patrick’s day menu that incorporates Beer could look like this:

• Stout Cheese Dip with Beer Bread
• Guinness Corned Beef with Cabbage with Stout Mustard
• Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Buttercream