101
Below, Paul
Gentile of
Gentile Brewing
Company
It's going to be on a Wednesday and I'm
hoping that we can make it special enough
that people come out." Backbeat's kitchen will
be serving a few St. Patrick's Day essentials,
like bangers and mash and shepherds pie,
which alongside the beers (plus a safe eating
and drinking environment) should be enough
to entice anyone for whom indoor dining fits
their comfort level.
If it isn't, then maybe North Shore
breweries should take a cue from Gentile:
"If we told our customers that we were
going to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on
September 17, they wouldn't blink an eye,"
he says. He may be partly joking, but he's
also partly serious, and so is Harkins: He
thought about celebrating St. Patrick's Day
in November, but nixed the idea because
he would've had to sandwich it in between
Oktoberfest, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Asked if he'd consider a September 2021 St.
Patrick's Day, Harkins, without missing a
beat, declares, "absolutely." There's nothing
saying people can't put on shamrocks and
honor Ireland's patron saint in the fall, and
though it wouldn't be the same, nothing else
is, either, so why not? And in the meantime,
these breweries still have the beer you need
to make St. Patrick's Day memorable—even
if you only end up celebrating it at home.
backbeatbrewing.com; gentilebrewing.com;
riverwalkbrewing.com
