If drinking green beer on St. Patrick’s Day is important to you, you can do so easily: just add three drops of green food coloring to the oat soda of your choosing.
But if you’re curious about other options — perhaps something with more nutritional value than artificial dye — try adding matcha green tea powder. It’ll imbue your brew with the same desired green hue, and a helping of antioxidants as a healthy bonus.
At 29B Teahouse in the East Village, Manhattan, you’ll find matcha-infused beer on the menu. Owner Stefan Ramirez shared his recipe with Tasting Table: two grams (about half a teaspoon) of matcha mixed with one beer (he serves his with a rice lager from Japanese Echigo Beer Company).
The fine print: Ramirez first sifts the matcha through a strainer to remove any lumps, and then whisks it together with two ounces of beer until it gets foamy. Then he adds the mixture to a tall glass and slowly pours in the beer until it’s topped off. That’s it!
Because matcha is so dense — essentially, it’s green tea leaves finely ground into a powder — it’s packed with antioxidants. According to matchasource.com, it has 137 times the amount of antioxidants contained in your standard cup of steeped green tea. If you think about it, typically when you’re drinking green tea, you toss the tea bag in the trash once your tea has steeped to the desired strength. With matcha, you’re actually consuming the leaves themselves, so you’re getting a higher nutritional content.
Matcha also has three times as much caffeine as a cup of green tea — roughly the amount in a cup of brewed coffee, according to Health.com
If you need a little jolt with your beer, especially if you get started early in the morning on St. Patty’s Day, a matcha-booze combo will keep you on your toes. (That being said, drink responsibly, folks.)
