Time to get your green on.  Denver will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day from today on, with parades, music, corned beef, and—beer.  The Denver St. Patrick’s Day parade starts at 20^th and Wewatta streets this Saturday, March 15, at 9:30 am.  Its festivities are free, but be aware that downtown parking spots are not.

If you’re more of a traditionalist, the actual holiday is Monday, March 17.  And if you’re looking for a fun way to celebrate, you may want to go in search of green beer.  This “traditional” drink of leprechauns is a great way to celebrate the coming of spring, and is easy to make at home.  Simply put a few drops of green food coloring in the bottom of your mug and add in some of the lighter colored beers available on the market—Coors light, Budweiser, or one of the Millers.

Just don’t ask for green beer at any of the numerous microbreweries around town.  Green beer to these folks is a “sacrilege” according to Jules Hoekstra, part owner and Brew Ambassador Extraordinaire for Strange Brewing Company on the corner of Zuni and 13^th in Downtown Denver.

“We never color beer,” said Jules. “We thrive on having great beer standards. For the holiday, we’d recommend drinking a good Irish stout, like Jack Stout, at our tasting room.  And if you come in on St. Patrick’s Day wearing festive green, we’ll give you a dollar off any pint you order.” That, said Jules, is a better way to have your green and your beer too.

When asked why Strange calls their tap service a “tasting room,” and not just a “pub” or “bar,” Jules explained that tasting rooms tend not to sell food with their beers. Might muddy the waters, as it were.

And speaking of water, did you know that beer contains approximately 90% water?  How did we know this?  Because in Littleton, at Platte Canyon and Bowles, is Bierhaus Brewing and Supplies, run by father and son team Bob and Sean Haux.  These two beer-brewing experts along with colleague, Dave McKnight, sell all the supplies you need to make your own beer, and will teach you how to do so.  Dave holds beer-brewing classes each Saturday from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.

“People making their own beers is becoming more popular over time,” said Sean, who left his insurance business to open shop. “Here, in Colorado, there are over 110 planned new breweries for 2014 alone.  Microbreweries are becoming so popular they are cutting significantly into the big brewers’ profits. I believe the giants like Budweiser, Miller, and Coors are losing as much as 11% of their profits to the microbrewers.”

We asked Sean if making your own beer was expensive or difficult.  “It’s pretty straight forward,” he said. “We have brew on-site available here, where people come in, brew their beer and go home with about five gallons at the end of the day, to ferment for one to two months.”

For those who want to brew at home, a backyard deck creates a superb place for your work.

“Ninety to ninety-five percent of home brewers do so outside,” said Sean.  “All you need is a turkey fry burner and a container for your beer.”  The turkey fry burner is safer for brewing than for frying because no oil is involved. The biggest accident would be “wort,” or unfermented beer boiling over.  Sean said that would create a sweet, sticky kind of mess, but nothing a good power washer couldn’t handle.

Sean said the setup cost—buying equipment and ingredients—would cost less than two hundred dollars.  After that, an extract kit for ingredients would run less than fifty dollars.

“Usually you’re looking at about twenty-five dollars for a five gallon batch of beer,” said Sean.

One other big warning for home brewers is to keep your dog away from the hops.  Bierhaus Brewing and Supplies has a resident golden retriever named Milo who keeps an eye on things when he’s not chasing a ball around the store.  Everybody loves Milo, and the dog is smart enough to stay well away from the hops.

Dave McKnight explained that if dogs eat hops, they could easily develop a condition called Malignant Hyperthermia. Their temperature regulation malfunctions, and in less than a day they can become lethargic, drool excessively and act as though they are too warm.  The result can be lethal, so the best thing is to keep hops of any kind (used or fresh) away from your pet at all times.  Milo barked his agreement.

Whether you’re a beer drinker, parade watcher, or brewer, we wish you a safe and happy St. Patrick’s holiday.

(Photo by Brent Hofacker)