UPDATE (March 13):
It's a weird time out there, right? And we know you've already seen COVID-19 updates from everyone on your feed today, so we'll keep this short as we can. A few FHB announcements:
- The Main Street St. Paddy's Day bar crawl schedule for Saturday has been postponed and will come back in a different form at another time (you'll get a refund if you already bought your ticket). We will still be celebrating St. Pat's in the taproom tomorrow but in a scaled back way.
- Our food and band for Saturday are canceled
- Glitter beer is on for Saturday
- Costume contest is on for Saturday
- We are currently open for normal hours, with some amped up behind-the-scenes cleaning routines and some changes to what you see in the taproom. We have pulled everything we can't disinfect easily, so for example you won't see any more games, books, snacks, magazines, coasters, etc. We are taking the COVID-19 situation seriously and the safety/health of you and our employees is our top priority, so hopefully the inconvenience of the missing games and stuff is tolerable.
- In a weird way, breweries are uniquely prepared for a pandemic. 80% of making beer is cleaning. On a normal day, we are cleaning like crazy and we've always been proud of how bright and shiny and new-penny-like FHB is. Our cleaning regime now? Turned up to 11. Thank the staff when you see them for all their extra work.
- If you'd rather avoid long stints in public for the near future, we have a full fridge of crowlers for you and Girl Scout cookie sales today from 5 PM - 7 PM. A nice social isolation stock-up opportunity if we ever heard of one!
- Best wishes for everyone to stay safe and healthy. We're honored to be riding this weird wave with all of you. 🖤
We have a cooler full of Irish lager, beer-infused Irish food, and our own special brand of gold-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow, so you'll definitely want to join us for a big day of good craic (an Irish term for fun or entertainment, pronounced "crak") on March 14!
SCHEDULE
Noon - Sláinte! We open and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is… ON TAP? Yes, that’s right - glitter beer. Get your Instagram ready to melt. We’re adding edible glitter to the FIRST TWO KEGS ONLY of our new Irish lager to start the celebrations off with sparkle. When it’s sold out it’s sold out so come early!
4 PM - The come-and-go "Irish Enthusiasm" costume contest begins. To enter, just take a picture of you and your friends at the brewery in your outfits, make sure the picture privacy setting is set to public, post to FB/Twitter/Instagram, and tag it as #fathillstpats. We’ll see all the Gaelic pride by searching for that hashtag and the staff will vote on their favorites at the end of the night and contact the winner. Winner gets a $50 FHB gift card and 15 minutes of fame on our social media.
5 PM - Piggyback Smoke Shack's pop-up Irish food bar opens! Food sales until 8 PM or until sold out. Cash only for food, please. The menu includes:
+ Irish Soup : Corned Beef & Cabbage
+ Pulled Pork & Brisket Sandwiches with the option of Irish Coleslaw
+ Bavarian Soft Pretzels with FHB Robust Porter cheese sauce
+ Colcannon Irish Potatoes
+ Smoked Rib Boats with FHB Robust Porter BBQ sauce
+ Bread Pudding with FHB-Irish-Lager-Butter-Sauce
5 PM - Main Street Mason City St. Paddy's Day Bar Hop begins! Buy your pass online or at the Chamber that night and get drink discounts downtown. $1 off each beer at FHB for all bar hop participants. Details of the bar hop and ticket info will be up on The Main Street Mason City website/FB soon.
7 PM - Betty and the Gents live in the taproom until 10 PM, entertaining you with great music with an Irish flair.
10:30 PM - Costume contest ends. We’ll announce the winners on social media after all our staff has had time to vote.
11 PM - An Irish exit. No goodbyes! Get home via your DD, Express Taxi (641-423-4167), or the Uber/Lyft apps.
St. Paddy's is one of our favorite holidays and the taproom and staff will be all decked out in special uniforms. Please join us!