2nd Largest St. Patrick’s Day Celebration in the U.S. and Beer #4995 in Savannah
From the Desk of JT, the Beer Logger (B-Logger)
Mission: 50 Beers to 5000: Having a blast, with beer!
Beer #: 4995
Location: Savannah
Beer: Garden of Evil (Czech Dark Lager)
Brewery: Two Tides Brewing Company
Vibe: Half a million people in green doing the absolute most
Mood: Festive, slightly sleep-deprived, fully committed
🍀 The Setup: Wait… Savannah Is #2?!
Let’s start with the shocker — because yeah, this surprised a lot of people.
Savannah, Georgia hosts the second largest St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the United States, behind only New York City.
Bigger than Boston.
Bigger than Chicago.
Let that sink in for a second.
We’re talking a city that regularly pulls in half a million people, and in peak years? Up to 1.2 million.
And for Beer #4995… we walked straight into it.
🎉 A 200-Year Party That Never Slowed Down
This isn’t some new festival trying to catch buzz.
Savannah’s been doing this since 1824 — when the Hibernian Society of Savannah organized the first parade after mass.
And the roots go even deeper:
- Irish settlers arriving as early as 1734
- Labor waves in the 1830s–40s building canals and railroads
- Population growth during the potato famine
- A port city that kept welcoming Irish workers when others didn’t
This isn’t just a party.
It’s a generational tradition that turned into a full-city takeover.
🌅 Early Start… Like Very Early
For reasons still unknown…
I woke up early.
Like… really early.
Stepped outside and — boom — people already locking in spots before 6 AM.
Locals filled us in:
- Chairs and tents go up the night before
- Families claim the same territory every year
- Some setups include full tailgates… even bleachers
This isn’t casual spectating.
This is competitive parade positioning.
🌳 The Green Moment: Savannah Does It Right
One of the crown jewels of the whole celebration?
Forsyth Park.
Specifically:
Water dyed bright green. Families everywhere. Cameras out. Energy building.
It’s one of those moments where you go:
“Yeah… this city knows exactly what it’s doing.”
🍺 The Warm-Up: Guinness, Traditions & Two-Day Pace
Now let’s be honest — you don’t just jump into a day like this cold.
Ted, Sandy, and I handled prep the proper way:
Guinness. And plenty of it.
Over two days, we mixed in:
- Classic pints
- A few creative Irish-inspired drinks
- Enough hydration (beer counts… right?)
This was a slow build into full send territory.
🎯 The Mission: Find Beer #4995
Now somewhere between parade routes and pint number… we’ll say several…
I locked back into mission mode.
We’re at Beer #4995.
This isn’t the time to wing it.
Target acquired:
🍻 Two Tides Brewing Company
A local favorite. Strong reviews. Creative lineup.
Exactly what we’re looking for this deep into the journey.
🍺 The Beer: Garden of Evil (Czech Dark Lager)
Now THIS is how you plant a flag at #4995.
I went with Garden of Evil, keeping the dark beer theme rolling.
Two Tides describes it as part of their Horus Aged Ales lager collab series — brewed with layered malt complexity, balanced with Saaz hops, and cold-conditioned nice and slow.
And… they nailed it.
🧭 JT Breakdown
- Vibe Check: Craft oasis away from parade madness
- Drinkability Level: Smooth operator
- Flavor Lane: Light roast, subtle sweetness, clean finish
- Complexity: Just enough to keep you interested, not enough to slow you down
- Execution: Crisp, polished, and dialed in
This thing was:
Fun. Clean. Balanced.
Exactly how a dark lager should show up.
🍓 Bonus Round: Mawmaw’s Allberry Pie (Because Curiosity Won)
Now… I couldn’t leave without trying something wild.
Enter:
Mawmaw’s Allberry Pie (collab with Inner Voice Brewing)
Let’s just run the ingredient list real quick:
- Boysenberry
- Raspberry
- Blackberry
- Blueberry
- Cranberry
- Loganberry
- Marionberry
- Strawberry
- Graham cracker
- Cinnamon
At this point, we’re not brewing beer…
We’re baking dessert.
And somehow?
It tasted like exactly all of that.
Mawmaw didn’t mess around.
Would I crush a full pint?
Absolutely not.
But that 5 oz pour?
Perfect little side quest.
⚓ The Bigger Picture: Controlled Chaos Meets Craft Precision
That’s what made Beer #4995 hit.
You’ve got:
- Absolute citywide chaos 🍀
- 200+ years of tradition
- Streets flooded with green
- Guinness flowing like it’s part of the infrastructure
And then…
You step into a brewery and get something clean, balanced, and dialed in.
That contrast?
That’s the magic.
⭐ Rating
3.75 / 5.0
- Well-executed dark lager ✔️
- Smooth, clean, and flavorful ✔️
- Perfect pivot from the chaos ✔️
- Memorable in the context of the day ✔️
This one earns its spot.
🍻 Final Sip: 4995 Feels Real Close
We’re not just approaching 5000…
We’re feeling it now.
Beer #4995 wasn’t just another notch — it was part of a massive, historic celebration that somehow still made room for a perfectly crafted lager.
Savannah showed up.
Two Tides delivered.
And the journey?
Still rolling.
#supportlocal and #drinklocal.
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