For a beer purist, fake green beer on St. Patty’s Day is like a bad nightmare. It raises thoughts of green cake icing and a permanently green-tinged tongue. How about green teeth? Lager - flavored with green food coloring.

Sexy! Very, very sexy!

Thanks to the inventive craft brewers at Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware, USA, this green stuff isn’t a smokescreen with permanent damage. Green beer is actually REAL – a fluorescent green dortmunder, with creamy mint green head – all natural and Verdi Verdi Good.

It is no surprise that the creative brewers at Dogfish Head chose a title like "Verdi” to represent the complexity of their limited edition early Spring beer. Verdi, the Italian opera composer, elevated music to its fullest artistic form with such works as La Traviata, Aida, and Otello. In Norwegian, verdi stands for value and worth. In Italian and Esperanto, it is the intense green of life.

In scientific terms, the green color infused into Dogfish Head Verdi Verdi Good is the result of adding the “food of the future,” a single-celled blue-green microalgae called Spirulina, that was a staple in Aztec and Asian cuisine.

Spiral, microscopic strands of Spirulina are found in warm, fresh-water ponds, not in sea-water. It is a hygienic food because it grows in hot and alkaline environments that do not support the systems of organisms that cause pollution. High in vegetable protein, beta carotene, and vitamin B-12, it is the genus responsible for the brilliance of the flamingo’s pink plumage.

Verdi Verdi Good, inspired by beers brewed in Thailand and Myanmar, is a crystalline emerald lager with bready, malt aroma. Whispers of honey, organic earth and funk arise in the nose. In the style of a 19th century Dortmunder Export, it retains a malty Helles profile and a heftier 5.5% ABV, with the firm Noble hop bite of the golden Pils of Germany. The tongue is touched with the reminiscent flavors of fresh bread, while a mild, organic, vegetal character dances above a balanced bitterness. This is a satisfying session beer without the fake qualities of FD&C Green No. 3.

Green beer…with all the benefits.

Cheers!