BY ALEX PIAZZA
TRAVERSE CITY -- A bottle of green dye collects dust most days underneath the bar at Mackinaw Brewing Co.
But that food coloring will come in handy today, adding a tinge of green to the pint glasses of local revelers as they celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
"We keep a bottle of that stuff if they want it," said Mackinaw Brewing owner Rod Langbo. "It's the same bottle that's been sitting back there for years. Being a brew pub, the coloring of our beer is pretty important to us."
Mike Gray, 25, of Traverse City, plans to get his fill of green beer. But his festivities will start earlier than most as he and his friends will take part in a downtown pub crawl.
Gray plans to visit most of the bars in downtown Traverse City, including U & I Lounge and Bootleggers.
"Every bar will be packed," he said.
But Gray will be forced to cut short his festivities because of an early math exam on Thursday at Northwestern Michigan College.
"Pub crawl all day, study all night," he said.
Andy Weaver, manager at Kilkenny's, scheduled more bartenders and servers to handle what he expects to be a capacity crowd. Kilkenny's can fit 325 people inside.
"We had a line at the door last year, and we're expecting one this year," he said.
Weaver stocked up on whiskey and other popular drinks in preparation for the holiday. And with extra crowds comes extra cash -- Weaver expects today to double his normal Wednesday profits.
Authorities plan to beef up patrols, especially in the downtown area, to monitor drunken driving and other alcohol-related incidents. Traverse City police normally have three vehicles patrol local streets, but today plan to dispatch two additional cars.
Michigan grants that last year funded extra patrols on holidays were cut significantly, which forced the department to foot the bill for overtime officers today.
"Downtown will be the area with the most tension," city police Capt. Steve Morgan said.
Most reports that come through the department on St. Patrick's Day involve disorderly conduct, drunken driving and minors in possession of alcohol. Morgan said March 17 ranks as the third most popular bar date in downtown Traverse City, only behind Thanksgiving Eve and New Year's Eve.
David Bearss, 22, of Traverse City, plans to celebrate his Irish heritage with his brother today. Bearss has class at NMC this afternoon, but said he doesn't want to miss out on the annual St. Patrick's Day celebration.
And those who plan to celebrate outside today can expect warm weather. Temperatures could reach 60 degrees and there's no sign of precipitation, said Scott Rozanski, National Weather Service meteorologist.
"Expect a carbon copy of (Tuesday)," he said.
Local taxi services also hope to profit from today's holiday, and Chippewa Cab plans to deploy all five of its vehicles.
"It's going to be larger than a normal Wednesday, very much so," said Sharon Dille, of Chippewa Cab. "Most people don't party on Wednesday if it's not St. Patty's Day."
