Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

First, let's just quickly check the weather report from the Emerald Isle, shall we?

(Heh.)

But surprisingly enough, the country that caught my eye this particular Paddy's Day wasn't Ye Ould Sod, but instead our neighbor to the north. And it wasn't the fine stout product from Sir Arthur Guinness that intrigued my beer-loving sensibilities this year, but instead... Moosehead?

That's right. Moosehead beer (lager, actually, if you want to be pedantic). From Canada.

I have no idea how serious the fine folks at Moosehead truly are, but on their "Moosehead Beer Shop" site, they are now offering what they call "The Presidential Pack."

It's a crate of beer. Like no other crate of beer you've ever seen before (unless you happen to work in a beer distribution facility). Why? Well, for starters, it requires a forklift to move. It's a really big crate of beer!

Some marketing genius at the company did the math and enterprisingly added it all up. And this is what they came up with. The "Presidential Pack," which contains 1,461 cans (473mL) of Moosehead lager.

The hilarious part is the message emblazoned on the side of the crate. To wit:

Congratulations. You are now one thousand four hundred sixty-one beers closer to 2029. We can't predict how the next four years will go, but considering how 2025 started, we have a feeling this many beers will come in handy. Cheers.

Call it the "beer of the day" club, with just enough to last through January 20th, 2029. All for the low, low price of $2,491.00 (Canadian dollars, assumably).

As mentioned, I'm not entirely sure this is an actual product or not. Which brings us to the bad news. It is listed as only being available in three Canadian provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario). And it is also listed as being "Sold Out" -- however, there is a "Notify me when available" button on the side of the page, so who knows? Maybe they did actually make a few of these, sell them, and will be creating more real soon now?

Or maybe it's just a joke, but even so it is indeed the funniest beer-related item that has crossed our path in the leadup to St. Patrick's Day, so we had to point it out for our Canadian readers (just in case they might want to get on the waiting list).

You might think that's a lot of money (even in Canadian dollars) to have lying around to spend. But it seems Canadians are saving a whole lot of their hard-earned money by not taking vacations in America, these days. And they're not the only ones:

International travelers concerned about President Donald Trump's trade policies and bellicose rhetoric have been canceling trips to the United States, depriving the U.S. tourism industry of billions of dollars at a time when the economy has started to appear wobbly.

Canadians are skipping trips to Disney World and music festivals. Europeans are eschewing U.S. national parks, and Chinese travelers are vacationing in Australia instead.

International travel to the United States is expected to slide by 5 percent this year, contributing to a $64 billion shortfall for the travel industry, according to Tourism Economics. The research firm had originally forecast a 9 percent increase in foreign travel, but revised its estimate late last month to reflect "polarizing Trump Administration policies and rhetoric."

"There's been a dramatic shift in our outlook," said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. "You're looking at a much weaker economic engine than what otherwise would've been, not just because of tariffs, but the rhetoric and condescending tone around it."

. . .

This time, Canada -- the top source of international travel to the United States -- is poised to lead the way. Trump has for weeks said he wants to make the country a "51st state." In response, Canada's former prime minister, Justin Trudeau, urged Canadians not to vacation in the United States.

They appear to have listened: The number of Canadians driving back from visits to the United States fell by 23 percent in February, while air travel from the United States was down 13 percent compared with a year earlier, according to government figures from Statistics Canada.

Altogether, Tourism Economics expects a 15 percent decline in travel from Canada this year, translating to $3.3 billion in lost spending.

$3.3 billion buys a whole lot of cans of lager, we hasten to point out. Or even crates of lager (presidential or not).

But enough about Canada. We have to close in a traditional way, since it is (after all) St. Patrick's Day. So here you go, here's a video of the dancing Gardiner Brothers, celebrating St. Patrick's Day in the Irish countryside. Sláinte!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant