Hello LC lovelies! It’s Kristi from SaucyPants! With a last name like Murphy, I can’t go without celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! So today I’m sharing some St. Patrick’s Day party inspiration. I don’t know about you, but when I think of St. Patrick’s Day, I think of beer so we decided to throw a little St. Patrick’s Day Beer Tasting party. Below I am going to walk you through everything you need to throw your very own fete…and be sure to keep an eye out for a little cameo of my 100% Irish dad!

Farm Setting

It’s starting to get warm here in Arizona, so we took the party outside to the The Farm at South Mountain! It was so incredibly beautiful out there! The weather is just perfect this time of year, so it might have been the most fun I have had at a photo shoot yet! Take your beer tasting to your nearest farm or look no further than your backyard!

Earthy Green Centerpiece

I have never been to Ireland, but from the pictures I see, the verdant landscape is breathtaking. We wanted to bring a little of that to our party. Karin at God’s Garden Treasures Florist put together “something earthy and green” for us to use as a centerpiece! If this doesn’t scream Irish, I don’t know what does! Karin mixed in Bells of Ireland, artichokes, asparagus, lettuce, rosemary, and she can tell you what else! You can experiment with what you have around your house to make your very own centerpiece or just have Karin do it for you like I did ;-). Other décor pieces you can make at home are these artichoke filled vases. To make them, we just dropped artichokes (stems cut off) in square vases filled about a quarter of the way up with water. We scattered these around the party on the main and side tables to match the centerpiece! A very simple but good-looking idea!

Casual Outfits with Small Pops of Green

I’m not a fan of going overboard with green on St. Patrick’s Day, so we showed our spirit with little pops of green in our outfits! I wore a baby pink ruffled button down top with reversible jeans from Bunky Boutique. These jeans are awesome! You can wear them with the flower pattern cuffed at the bottom or reverse them to reveal the “all over” flower pattern, which is completely on trend right now! I topped the outfit off with a tipped straw cloque aka “cute hat” from Anthropologie. Emily wore a pleated color block top with black leggings and shorty boots. And Mike wore a Kelly green heart Arizona tee from Bunky Boutique.

Barrel Decor

To set the tone for a beer tasting, we scattered barrels around the party. If you want to get wild, scatter around kegs instead!

Gastro Pub-Esque Dishes

We used orange-rimmed dishes from Anthropologie to set the table! To me this orange color is synonymous with gastro-pubs, so these seemed to fit perfectly!

Blackboard Cloth Table Runner

This was my first time using blackboard cloth aka chalk cloth, and I am obsessed! This stuff is great! We draped it over the table so partygoers could write their thoughts about the beers we were serving. 

Personalized Beer Growlers

Instead of the usual place settings, we opted for personalized beer growlers to direct guests to their seats! You can find growlers at your local home beer-brewing store. If you are in AZ, I got these half-gallon jugs at Brew Your Own Brew in Gilbert. The best part about these is they double as party favors for your guests to take home!

Chalkboard Menus

To let guests know what they were going to eat and drink, we made chalkboard menus to hang up (and wear around apparently). 

Flights

We served different beers for our guests to try in shot or flight glasses. You can go glass or plastic! Beers were labeled with our printable beer label coasters.

Beer Notes + Scoring

Guests picked their top three beer choices by flagging them “1,2, and 3” with our printable scoring flags. Guests could also score their beers and write notes with our printable beer scorecards. And finally, guests could write notes on our printable note cards. These are great for take home notes, so your guests can remember their favorites!

Food Menu

We served some healthier (of course!) snacks that complimented the beers! First up were whole-wheat soft pretzels. Next, mixed nuts were served in jars. Third, a pizza board was festooned with artisanal cheeses featuring Irish brands of course, including Kerrygold Dubliner cheese! And finally, handmade granola bars were served and wrapped in parchment paper and twine. We will be sharing all of these recipes on SaucyPants in a couple of days! All food items were labeled with our tent cards.

Dessert

For dessert, we served Gluten-Free Organic Cupcakes with Butter cream Frosting on mini cupcake pedestals adorned with party circles.

Beer Tasting Menu

We served all Irish beers in flights, growlers, and bottles! For the bottles we customized them with our printable labels! Here are a few of the beers we served!

Guinness Stout Beer
Diageo brewed the Guinness Stout in Ireland. True to the Irish Ale style, Diageo has given Guinness Stout the following description: "A crisp hint of roasted barley, the fresh breeze of hops, and the refreshing bite all make for the bittersweet reward." It is best served in a Pint glass at a temperature of 16 ℃.

Murphy’s Irish Stout (I couldn’t resist!)
Murphy's Irish Stout (often simply Murphy's) is a stout brewed at the Murphy's Brewery in Cork, Ireland (where our family is from!). It is brewed to be less heavy and less bitter than its chief competitor Guinness. Its flavor is evocative of caramel and malt, and is described as "a distant relative of chocolate milk.”  The resemblance to milk extends beyond flavor to texture: Murphy's is free from any hint of carbonation, and is delivered "black as strong cappuccino" with an inch of foam – the head – on top.

Smithwick’s
Smithwick’s is Ireland's Oldest Ale, since 1710. The basic Smithwick's Draught has a creamy head, a palate that is very soft at first but develops in sweetness, and a hint of treacle toffee dryness in the finish. It seems bigger than might be expected from a gravity of 1036. It is brewed from Pale Ale malt, roasted barley and 20 per cent corn syrup, with English bittering hops, plus Fuggles and Goldings for aroma.

If you want to get even more “crafty” with your beers, I suggest visiting our customer’s blog. She threw her husband a 30^th birthday party and went all out with the food and beer pairings. She has some great tips! Otherwise, contact your local brewery for some great craft beers and descriptions! Whole Foods has some great craft beers and will fill up growlers (with official labels) here in Arizona and other states in which it is legal!

Irish Soda Bread Favors

As a parting gift, we sent guests home with Irish Soda Bread mini loaves wrapped in parchment paper, twine, and our favor tags.

Party Printables

To throw your very own St. Patrick’s Day Beer Tasting, you can download our St. Patrick’s Day Beer Tasting party printable collection! We are offering 50% off for Lauren Conrad readers from now until St. Patrick’s Day! Use the code LCIRISH50 in our SaucyPants Shop or in our Etsy Shop! In the SaucyPants Shop, the file is an instant download!

Are you inspired to host a St. Patrick's Day Beer Tasting Party? What are your plans for Sunday?

xoxo
Kristi
SaucyPants

P.S. Team LC here! If you're not of age to consume beer, have a lemonade with green food coloring instead! You make a variety of flavors too (lime, raspberry, blueberry) and apply the tasting concept to the different types. 

Credits: Venue: The Farm at South Mountain, Wardrobe + Jewelry: Bunky Boutique, Centerpiece: God’s Garden Treasures Florist, Party Styling: SaucyPants, Party Printables: SaucyPants, Photography: SaucyPants + Scott Bain Photography, Growlers: Brew Your Own Brew