Folks in the U.S. spend over $4 billion per year just on St. Patrick's day food and drink. Imagine the difference those dollars would make if we picked sustainably-produced beer and whiskey over the conventional stuff? We've got some drink suggestions and a list of organic stouts to help you do just that!

Green beer is a classic St. Patrick's Day drink, but conventional food coloring is full of nasty mystery ingredients. Never fear! Just add a couple of drops of Seelect green food coloring to your favorite organic brew. Seelect coloring is vegan, gluten free, and made from all plant-based ingredients.

If you want your beer to be really bright green, you might have to forgo the stout in favor of something lighter so your food coloring can really do its thing. We recently fell in love with Peak Organic Ale. It's a nice, light color that's just right for dyeing and a tasty ale with just the right amount of hoppy goodness!

You can still get a greenish tint to a stout (see our list of organic stouts below), but it might take a little extra food coloring.

Organic whiskey is tricky to come by, but there are a few brands out there that you might look into: Benromach Organic Single Malt Whisky, Bruichladdich Organic, or Highland Harvest Organic Scotch Whiskey look like good options. Have any of you run across an organic Irish whiskey? Our search turned up nothing, unfortunately.

Stout List

Guiness is the beer of choice on St. Patrick's day, but maybe this is your year to branch out! There are tons of tasty organic stouts out there. You can check the local pub or package store for some of these:

• Chocolate Stout from Bison Brewing
• Organic Stout from Hawkshead Brewery
• Laurelwood’s Organic Portland Roast Espresso Stout
• Old Plowshare Organic Stout from North Coast Brewing Company
• Wolaver's Certified Organic Oatmeal Stout

So spill it, guys. Do you have a favorite eco-friendly St. Patrick's day libation that didn't make the list?

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by Brendan Lynch