MONASTERY BEER; THE DRINKING OF BEER AS A LENTEN PRACTICE
MONASTERY BEER;
THE DRINKING OF BEER AS A LENTEN PRACTICE
Catholics, of course, are not obliged to give up solid food for the Lenten fast, unlike the strict orders of monks in medieval days. However, they are obliged to fast for the Lenten period, meaning: eating one small meal, together with one or two smaller meals, the whole of which, taken together, amounts to one small meal. There may be no eating between meals. However, beer wine, coffee and tea may be taken, (unless, of course, that is the thing you have resolved to give up for Lent).
It is obligatory to completely fast on the very significant days of Ash Wednesday, as the commencement of Lent, in acknowledgment of Christ's fast in the desert, and Good Friday, because on that day Christ suffered in the flesh and died for our sins. It is also obligatory for all Catholics to fast from meat on all Fridays during Lent in remembrance of Christ’s suffering, and it is strongly recommended by the US Catholic bishops that participation in daily Mass and self-imposed fasting be observed on other Lenten days, as well as almsgiving, Lenten study of religious readings and meditations, and daily devotions such as the Rosary, the Little Office or, on Fridays throughout Lent, the Stations of the Cross. (1)
It seems that, during the Middle Ages, beer and wine were not only allowed as a part of the Lenten fast, in some monasteries, they actually were the Lenten fast. Catholic monks, in fact, brewed beer specifically for a liquid only Lenten fast; in this regard, it must be remembered that the manufacture of both drinks enabled a purification of the water, and they were also important sources of nutrition. The beer consumed was not today’s mass-produced beer, but was a vitamin rich drink made by the monastery specifically for Lent, with a high nutritional value.
In the 1600’s the Paulaner monks moved from Southern Italy to the Cloister Neubeck ob der Au in Bavaria. Because they were a strict order, they were not allowed to consume solid food at all during Lent. They concocted an unusually strong brew of beer, full of carbohydrates and nutrients, which they called “liquid bread”, and which was not deemed to break the fast. The monks eventually sold it to the community, and, hence, the origins of the Paulaner Brewery, founded in 1634. They named the beer “Salvator”, named after “Sankt Vater” which translates as “Holy Beer.”
(Catholic News Agency. Com)
Today, numerous monasteries brew beer. Trappist beer is brewed in thirteen Trappist monasteries, five in Belgium, two in Holland, one each in Austria, England, France, Spain and the United States.
Cistercian monks at St Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren, Flanders, have ventured into on-line selling of their much sought-after beer, although purchasers still are obliged to pick up their crates of beer personally at the Abbey’s shop, nestled in Flemish farmland. They are also obliged to provide personal details, after the monks discovered that their beer had been sold at inflated prices without their approval or knowledge.
“From 6,000 hectolitres – about 1m pints- produced annually over 42 brewing days, the monks brew three beers: a blonde that is 5.8% alcohol and Westvleteren 8 and 12, the latter of which is regularly ranked as the best beer in the world despite its hefty 10.2% alcohol by volume.” (2)
An English news outlet in France, The Local, tells us that French Benedictine monks in northern France have resurrected the venerable beer-making trade at the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille, in Normandy, (between Le Havre and Rouen). They are selling the beer at the Abbey’s shop, other monasteries online or through speciality stores.
“The Saint-Wandrille monastery was founded in 649 AD and was ravaged by Viking attacks, the wars of religion and the French Revolution, having been destroyed and rebuilt over many centuries.
“Monastic brewing in France enjoyed a heyday during the Middle Ages, but nearly disappeared after the revolution when many religious orders were dissolved.
Some monks and nuns returned to private life, many eventually marrying, but others fled the country, taking their beer recipes with them.
Monastic beers flourish among neighbouring countries, especially Belgium. But in recent memory France's only abbey beer brewed onsite by monks was that of the Sept-Fons abbey in central France, which stopped production in 1935.
Benedictine monks are bound by Saint Benedict's sixth-century “Rule for Monasteries” that says: “To truly be a monk one must work with his hands.”
At Saint-Wandrille, monks produced beeswax furniture polish before launching a copying business in the 1970s — which they dropped after failing to keep up with the technology. The monks cast about for another activity to raise money before seizing, in August 2014, on the idea of a return to brewing, recounts 29-year-old Brother Benoit, in charge of public relations.
Two of the monastery's 30 monks took up the challenge, Brother Matthieu, 31, and 70-year-old Brother Christian, who sought out training at an agricultural high school in Douai.
Upon their return, they experimented using a brewing kit they were given by British friends during a trip by a group of Saint-Wandrille monks to Quarr Abbey, a Benedictine monastery on the Isle of Wight. They then formed a committee that came to an agreement on the desired taste — bitter but not too bitter — and colour, a caramel pitched between blond and amber.
“They set themselves apart from Belgian beers that are slightly sweet, but less bitter than the beers typical of northern France,” said Thierry Cauet, their trainer in Douai, adding that the taste would agree with drinkers in many parts of France.
If the beer has an English taste, it is because the recipe includes four English hops varieties, grown in France — “two bitter hops and two aromatic ones” — said Brother Matthieu, who started out with no knowledge of brewing.
At the end of 2015, the monks took the plunge, taking out a 750,000 euro bank loan to buy the necessary equipment.
Their goal is to produce 80,000 litres a year from an operation that employs the two brewers plus packers and a sales force. The label declares an alcohol content of 6.5 percent — it would have been hard to guarantee a figure of 6.49 percent in honour of the abbey's founding year.” (3)
Another monastery that has restored the traditions of beer brewing is Grimbergen Abbey, in Belgium. They have a tradition of brewing beer which dates back to before the twelfth century. It is the first time the Abbey has brewed beer since it was ransacked in 1795. The monks were obliged to review books from the twelfth century, written in Latin and ancient Dutch, to determine the recipes for the monastery beer.
“It won't be for the faint-hearted, however — a beer is expected to contain about 10.8 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV).
"For us, it's important to look to the heritage, to the tradition of the fathers for brewing beer because it was always here," said Father Karel Stautemas, who will become one of five to six workers in the new brewery.
"Brewing and religious life always came together."
The discovery of books detailing the original monks' brewing methods has become a source of inspiration for the new microbrewery. Remarkably, the recipes were saved before the monastery was set alight in the 18th century — a group of quick-thinking fathers secretly removed the books from inside a library wall and put them into safe keeping. "We've spent hours leafing through the books and have discovered ingredient lists for beers brewed in previous centuries, the hops used, the types of barrels and bottles, and even a list of the actual beers produced centuries ago."
Grimbergen's monks will follow the rules of Belgium's Trappist beer makers, even if they are not a Trappist order, requiring them to brew within the abbey walls, control the brewing and steer profits toward maintaining the abbey and supporting charitable causes.
The abbey was founded in 1128 and has been tied to commercial brewers since the 1950s when local brewer Maes asked the monks to use the Grimbergen name and emblem on its "abbey beer".
Marc-Antoine Sochon, an expert at Carlsberg who will be the project's brewmaster, said the 10,000-hectolitre-per-year facility aimed to make limited edition versions of beer already brewed on a commercial scale under the Grimbergen name.
However, while the microbrewery hopes to pay homage to the original monks, Mr Sochon conceded 18th-century beer tasted a bit like "liquid bread" — so inevitably, the recipe will change.
"We will keep the same yeast, which will bring all the fruitiness and spiciness and we will start to dig into more innovations, such as barrel ageing, dry hopping," he said. (4)
(1) Catholic News Agency: “These17th century monks did a beer fast for Lent”
(2) The Guardian: “Belgian monks launch web-site to sell the world’s best beer – St Sixtus Abbey.
(3) The Local: “French monks bring back ancient beer-brewing tradition.”
(4) ANC Australia: “Belgian monks resurrect brewery after a two century break,”
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