SU students get lucky with two Green Beer festivities

It was a weekend full of green beer in Syracuse as there were not one, but two celebrations to kick off the St. Patrick’s Day season: the first-ever Green Beer Saturday at Orange Crate Brewing Company and the 64th annual Green Beer Sunday at Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub in Tipperary Hill.

No one is a stranger to the classic Green Beer Sunday celebration at Coleman’s, but they did change their green beer distributor from Onondaga Beverage to T.J. Sheehan Distributing, allowing Orange Crate to use Onondaga Beverage. 

However, green beer wasn’t the only thing happening on campus this weekend. Syracuse men’s basketball faced off against the University of North Carolina in the JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday. While the green beer may have intended to offer some luck to the Orange, Phoebe Sandstedt, a senior at Syracuse University, felt that Crate’s Green Beer Saturday was poor timing. 

“I think it’s a good idea, but I’m not sure about the timing of it. It might have been inconvenient since there was a basketball game on Saturday too,” Sandstedt said. 

But another SU senior Kate Bradley said Green Beer Saturday made game day more exciting by providing students with a little theme.

“I thought Green Beer Saturday was a fun idea because of the basketball game against UNC. I don’t think it took away from Green Beer Sunday either because I know people enjoy going to Crate before and after the games every weekend,” Bradley said. 

While customers of Orange Crate were able to enjoy deals like $15 pitchers with a T-shirt, plus $10 refills throughout the day and into the night, Sandstedt also agreed that Green Beer Saturday only served as an addition to the weekend festivities, and not a replacement.

“I don’t think it took away from Sunday since I know people who went to both,” Sandstedt said. 

Aamna Khan, another SU senior, did end up attending both green beer festivities, but felt that Coleman’s stood out more than Orange Crate.

“I’m not too sure about the price difference. I thought they were fairly similar. But Crate felt more like just any other night at Crate, plus green beer,” Khan said.

Even though some students made it to both celebrations, the tradition and legacy of Green Beer Sunday resulted in a much higher turnout at Coleman’s, despite the snowy weather.

Green Beer Sunday entailed a more detailed production with a parade led by Green Beer grand marshal, Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick, live music from bagpipers, Irish step dancers and of course, green beer.

Green Beer Sunday was first introduced in the 1960s by Peter Coleman, the founder of Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub.

Now, 64 years later, it is a Syracuse community tradition. It is known for its long lines and wait times, but participants like Bradley and her friends planned ahead to make sure they could beat the crowds—especially with all of the snow.

“I heard the lines get long, so we arrived at 10:30 a.m. and got in at 11:15 a.m. The wait was not bad at all because they opened at 11 a.m.,” Bradley said. 

Hannah Weiner is another SU student who chose to go to Coleman’s instead of Orange Crate for Green Beer and was happy with her decision. 

“Green Beer Sunday was a lot of fun! It was definitely cold and crowded, but they did a good job moving the line pretty quickly, and I had a really good time with my friends. I loved the live music, and I felt like a lot of SU people were there too, ” Weiner said. 

Orange Crate Brewing Company also continued serving green beer throughout the day on Sunday, despite a majority of students going to Coleman’s.