- Feb 5, 2002
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As the author of The Beer Option, I have a confession to make. I felt the Lord calling me about two years ago to give up alcohol, making it a sacrifice for both my physical and spiritual health. I am prone to migraines and I’m sure I was attached to drinking as well, even though in moderation. It should not be too much of a surprise, as I emphasized the importance of fasting and the virtue of temperance extensively in the book, drawing on monastic spirituality, which integrates alcohol into a life of prayer and penance. I still sample new monastic beers in sufficient sips for a taste test (giving the rest to friends) so that I can stay current on the monks’ latest projects, and I still frequently give talks about beer and alcohol for Catholic men.
There, I confessed it! And to be honest, I’m very much at peace about it. With a new line of beers, however, I could do more than taste test them. Welcome the first monastic non alcoholic beers.
NA beer is having a moment. It used to be undrinkable but apparently enough people now want to enjoy beer without the effects of alcohol to make greater investment in its quality worthwhile to craft brewers. Apparently, monastic brewers have paid attention. Both Affligem and Leffe are brewed by secular brewers with an affiliation to a monastery: Heineken on behalf of Affligem Benedictine Abbey (with a brewing tradition dating back to the 11th century) and InBev in partnership with the Norbertine Notre-Dame de Leffe abbey (with brewing dating to the 13th century). La Trappe is brewed on the grounds of the Koningshoeven Abbey in Holland (straddling the border with Belgium) in cooperation with Bavaria Brewery onsite. Because the Trappist monks maintain supervision and control, La Trappe is considered an official Trappist product (although there was controversy over the outside partnership for a time).
Taking a sip of Leffe’s 0.0 Brune was the first time a NA beer hit with full flavor, although the aftertaste gave the usual flat effect. It’s unusual, however, to find an NA with that much body. The Affligem 0.0 also presents more normally than the average NA, which are generally too sweet without the balance of the alcohol (often because fermentation has been arrested before converting the sugars to alcohol). The aftertaste was not as flat. It certainly wouldn’t have fooled me, although it didn’t scream NA.
Continued below.
buildingcatholicculture.com
There, I confessed it! And to be honest, I’m very much at peace about it. With a new line of beers, however, I could do more than taste test them. Welcome the first monastic non alcoholic beers.
NA beer is having a moment. It used to be undrinkable but apparently enough people now want to enjoy beer without the effects of alcohol to make greater investment in its quality worthwhile to craft brewers. Apparently, monastic brewers have paid attention. Both Affligem and Leffe are brewed by secular brewers with an affiliation to a monastery: Heineken on behalf of Affligem Benedictine Abbey (with a brewing tradition dating back to the 11th century) and InBev in partnership with the Norbertine Notre-Dame de Leffe abbey (with brewing dating to the 13th century). La Trappe is brewed on the grounds of the Koningshoeven Abbey in Holland (straddling the border with Belgium) in cooperation with Bavaria Brewery onsite. Because the Trappist monks maintain supervision and control, La Trappe is considered an official Trappist product (although there was controversy over the outside partnership for a time).
Taking a sip of Leffe’s 0.0 Brune was the first time a NA beer hit with full flavor, although the aftertaste gave the usual flat effect. It’s unusual, however, to find an NA with that much body. The Affligem 0.0 also presents more normally than the average NA, which are generally too sweet without the balance of the alcohol (often because fermentation has been arrested before converting the sugars to alcohol). The aftertaste was not as flat. It certainly wouldn’t have fooled me, although it didn’t scream NA.
Continued below.
A New Option: Monastic NA Beer
As the author of The Beer Option, I have a confession to make. I felt the Lord calling me about two years ago to give up alcohol, making it a sacrifice for both my physical and spiritual health. I …
buildingcatholicculture.com
