hat’s St Patrick’s Day without unfashionable people dressed hideously in green, or pots of gold on display in various chocolate boutiques? Not to mention (well…) the two-month Shamrock Shake extravaganza (well…). Come March, the layperson, accustomed to sipping on imports like Stella, opts to try something Irish; something like Guinness. Usually these fair-weather folk can only handle one Guinness a year (I'm not judging) so, apropos, they choose St. Patty's Day to mark the occasion. Guinness, like coveted Irish Pub seating on the 17th, is available all year round. People typically find the stout on the heavy side. Some can't finish an entire pint. It's the beer, people claim, that drinks like a meal. These people obviously aren't Irish. Let's have a lesson.

Since the dawn of Irish time, the green-hilled land's most popular drink has been the hallowed Guinness. It's distinctively dark and creamy, with a hint of bitterness and roast barley bite (yes, that's what that lingering taste is). Guinness's recipe doesn't stray far from the standard beer template (water, barley, malt, hops, and yeast), yet the distinction lies in the tradition and careful play on standard ingredients (like toasting the barley). The water used in Guinness comes from Lady's Well in the Wicklow Mountains, an isolated, cool water hole in a patch of woodland that never runs dry. Add the Irish-grown barley, a little nitrogen, a little carbon dioxide, and voila!