- Feb 5, 2002
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Monks star in The Beer Option, but nuns are not absent. In fact, one of the main patronesses of beer, the great Doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard of Bingen, was a Benedictine abbess who touted the health benefits of hops and beer. In her book, Causes and Cures, she wisely notes that “beer puts flesh on the bones and gives a lovely color to the face, on account of the strength and good juices of the grain. Water has a weakening effect. . . . Whether people are healthy or sick . . . they should drink wine or beer, not water.”
We think of beer as a masculine drink, but throughout history women took the primary role as brewers. This goes back to the ancient world (as seen in Hammurabi’s Code), in keeping inns but more frequently within the home in service of the family, and continuing throughout the Middle Ages. Brewers were among the last of the trades to form guilds precisely because brewing was considered to be a right of the family, overseen by the woman of the house (which is where the image of a woman standing and stirring over a steaming pot arose).
Nuns do brew, though not as frequently as their monastic brothers, the monks. The best known example can be seen in the Franciscan Sisters of Mallersdorf, Germany. There were a number of features on Sister Doris Engelhard, dubbed “Europe’s Last Brewster” by the Atlantic. Even NPR took a “pilgrimage” to visit her before she retired. Thankfully she is still going, and so the Franciscan Sisters continue to brew for their guests and local community.
Continued below.
buildingcatholicculture.com
We think of beer as a masculine drink, but throughout history women took the primary role as brewers. This goes back to the ancient world (as seen in Hammurabi’s Code), in keeping inns but more frequently within the home in service of the family, and continuing throughout the Middle Ages. Brewers were among the last of the trades to form guilds precisely because brewing was considered to be a right of the family, overseen by the woman of the house (which is where the image of a woman standing and stirring over a steaming pot arose).
Nuns do brew, though not as frequently as their monastic brothers, the monks. The best known example can be seen in the Franciscan Sisters of Mallersdorf, Germany. There were a number of features on Sister Doris Engelhard, dubbed “Europe’s Last Brewster” by the Atlantic. Even NPR took a “pilgrimage” to visit her before she retired. Thankfully she is still going, and so the Franciscan Sisters continue to brew for their guests and local community.
Continued below.
The Nuns of the Beer Option
Monks star in The Beer Option, but nuns are not absent. In fact, one of the main patronesses of beer, the great Doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard of Bingen, was a Benedictine abbess who touted th…
buildingcatholicculture.com
