The article (that I implore you to read!) details the account of two homebrewers working to migrate their passion from a hobby to a vocation.  The two homebrewers–Chris Miller and Mark Lehman–actually started a business brewing beer five gallons at a time in their garage, upped the output to 120 gallons, and are now looking to relocate their brewery from their garage to a commercial location.  The location of their choice??? A former Church Sunday school building.
Blasphemy!

Ehhh, not really, but you know that’s what folks are saying.  In fact, the duo are meeting resistance…apparently more so from the community in general than from the current owners (St. Joseph’s Catholic Church) of the property; though clearly there is some hesitancy from some parishoners as the article states.  I chuckled o myself as I read through the comments below the article on Citizen’s Voice website.  For your pleasure, I’ve furnished one such comment and it’s tactful reply.

PA Girl stated:

I think this is disgusting. Granted, the people involved in the business are probably nice people and the business is a legitimate one. I don’t think this is the proper use of the church…the school okay, but probably once the variance is okayed, it won’t be long until something is done with the church that would be considered less than ideal. This should not be approved until all the facts are on the table, and that means that the diocese of Scranton should let their feelings be known. The school is one thing….but the church, people, protect the church and the souls that came through there either at the beginning or end of their lives, as well as the time in between.

To which eqmantr responded:

PA GIRL, Im sorry I do not agree with you, i am a catholic and i would much rather see a building being used instead of it rotting away like MANY other churches around our area.
This is a mom and pop business possibly looking to create jobs which are greatly needed in this area…
good luck guys hope it works out and if more people had your ambition, this city would be a much better place

Hotel5 stated:

Religion is a scourge on the Earth. These guys just want to brew beer, supporting and rebuilding the community they grew up in. It’s pathetic that their dreams are being held up because a now vacant building was once used as a church. I suppose you’d rather it be a rat infested drug den, than a thriving business.

For shame.

I’d love to converse with both PAgirl and Hotel5 the history of the Church and brewing. I doubt either one of them are aware that many of the brewing processes we use today were developed by monks within Church walls by those who adhere to one take on “the scourge of the earth.”  But such individuals ho use such incendiary language are too blinded by tunnel vision to engage in such a peaceful and logical discussion.

Regardless, Beer and religion always prove to be an interesting topic, and I hope and pray that Chris Miller and Mark Lehman get their brewery.  Should they stumble across this post and are in need of a good rebuttal for the local parishoners, I believe this picture of the pope enjoying a brew may come in handy.

The event seems simple.  From the website:

This forum meets the fourth Wednesday of each month and discusses the tough issues of our day. Free and open to all perspectives. Come grab a brew, give your view, and lend an ear to others. 7:00-9:00 p.m. More info at www.midrashstl.com.

From the Midrash website the event is further defined:

Theology at the Bottleworks is a monthly event where we discuss issues relevant to the culture we live in, including topics that range from the economy and global warming to beauty and evil. Depending on the topic and the time of the year, attendance can be anywhere from 40 – 140 people.

THEOLOGY AT THE BOTTLEWORKS – Wednesday, November 24th 2010 -”Death Penalty On Trial”
This is the most diverse and lively public discussion in town. Our topic is “The Death Penalty on Trial.” We’ll discuss the latest legal and ethical developments on capital punishment as well as the fundamental issues involved, including individual rights, state’s interests and moral, ethical and sociological ramifications. Come grab a brew, give your view, and lend an ear to others’. Free and open to all views and perspectives. Join us on Wednesday, September 22nd 2010 from 7-9 pm at the Schlafly Bottleworks.

Hmmm…an intellectual discussion on the morality of corporal punishment, lex talionis, and the death penalty facilitated by good craft beer, hosted at a craft brewery?  Hardly low brow.  Additionally, the events shows how beer can positively bring peace to touchy subjects.  Try discussing global warming amongst a diverse group without the beer and see what happens.  Tempers flare, feelings are hurt, indignation rises…But, when each interlocutor has the common bond of a cherished beer in hand, camaraderie accommodates a more calm and effective discussion.

The event also shows that beer and religion are highly compatible, and that, unlike the proponents of the prohibition (and many neo prohibitionists of today), all men/women of faith are not sticks in the mud on a mission to sling judgment as the stroll past a bar (or Schlafly’s Bottleworks).

I wish something like this existed here in Kansas City! Perhaps our own Boulevard would open up their tasting room?

The article begins with Idaho Senator Mike Crapo’s efforts in pushing through a bill that would ease taxes on small beer makers, and then jumps ship from the newsworthy effort, rabbit trailing into several paragraphs that link Idaho Mormons as intrinsically tied to the beer industry, primarily as big suppliers of barley to breweries; mainly AB and Coors.

The fact that the article’s premise is only loosely tied to the Crapo’s Bill (the bill cuts taxes on breweries, not barley farmers) indicates to me that the author has a bit of an agenda…but then again, show me a reporter who maintains constant objectivity and I’ll give you a high five .  The author seems to be attempting to support Crapo’s efforts by downplaying the tension between Mormonism and alcohol consumption, after all, Senator Crapo has faced scrutiny from his fellow Mormons for helping what some in the ranks may consider a sinful industry.

In the article, the author attempts to make it a point that alcohol consumption is an ambiguous tenet with the Latter Day Saints.  He writes:

Church founder Joseph Smith offered this revelation in 1833, “Strong spirits are not for the belly, but for the washing of your bodies,” and members have practiced abstinence since.

But the church, which declined to comment for this story, doesn’t demand everybody quit drinking.

And later, he quotes members of the church:

Even so, Idaho’s Mormon barley farmers acknowledge an ambiguity in what they grow.

“I’ve often wondered about the correctness of doing it,” said Scott Brown, president of the Idaho Grain Producers Association and a Mormon who grows barley on 5,000 acres near Soda Springs. “But somebody is going to grow it, whether members of the LDS church do.”

And:

“People will look at me and say, ‘You’re a Mormon, why do you grow barley?’ ” he said. “I just don’t have a problem with it. I don’t think people who drink beer are bad.”

So it seems that this really is an ambiguous issue for the church, right? As a non-expert in Mormonism, I might beg to differ. You see, the Joseph Smith quote (the first that states alcohol is not meant for the belly) comes from section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, a source of authority for the LDS church, in which the Lord himself purportedly handed down to Joseph Smith what a member of the LDS church should or should not eat or drink.  If the doctrine is taken at face value, it is not a black and white issue.

Typically when it comes to matters of truth, it is the perception of the truth that is pragmatically bent, not the truth itself.   I think it comes through in the apologetic attitudes of the good Mormon barley growers.

Do I have a point in all of this?  I suppose.  First of all, I would support the Crapo’s bill (obviously, I want to open a brewery myself one day), but the article made me think:  Do I ever intentionally downplay my motives or actions or morals for gain? For example, were I an ardent supporter of gun control and vocal pacifist, would it be morally acceptable for me to work in an ammunition factory?  Are Crapo and the Barley growers participating in something against their conscience for the sake of economic growth?  And here is the BIG QUESTION: If Crapo and the Barley growers truly believe that it is morally permissible to consume alcohol and contribute to the development of the industry despite the fact that their doctrine suggests otherwise, should they continue on as faithful LDS members?

Think about it beer drinkers…were you to be come ABSOLUTELY convinced that a particular religious vein was completely real and representative of a real deity (humor me..even if you are an atheist) and that religious matrix demanded abstinence from your beloved brewski, would abstain?  Or, suppose you were a member of a religious community and disagreed with a tenet of faith that was deer to you (like abstaining from beer) would you continue on with the group?

I rarely–let me rephrase–I’ve never written on religious topics on the site.  Nate has posted a couple of things, but we don’t want to make this a Christian beer website.  Nate and I both happen to be Christians, but our website loyalties are strictly beer.  Of course, we were being quite literal when we called the site thankheavenforbeer.  Be that as it may, I would like to write an article about whether or not it is actually sinful to drink beer.  I realize this is a niche article and not everybody will appreciate, like, or even understand what all the fuss is about.  Fortunately, there is a plenty of other unaffected, at least as far as “religion” is concerned, stuff on the site.  Feel free to read on or go to another article.

Why am I even bothering to write this?  Well, the answer is simple.  I’ve seen multiple times that people have searched the exact terminology “Is drinking beer sinful?” or “Is drinking sinful?” and I want to be a vanguard against neo-prohibitionist logic.  In some sense, I know very well that tortured soul who is asking this question, and I feel an obligation to answer him or her. I’ve asked this question and have found a reasonable answer, so I feel that I need to share it with anyone who is asking.

Tell me this: why do we blog?  Is it to hear ourselves talk or are we all doing this very thing?  Aren’t we assuming that people are seeking advice, instructions, answers, filling curiosities, seeking a community, wanting helpful replies and a myriad of other things when they get on the internet?  It’s not inconsequential that the names of google and the like are called “search engines.”  Isn’t that what a lot of being on the internet is about?  So, in quite another sense, I am not simply aware of the tortured soul…I’m hoping to instruct it.

Our concerns in life run the gambit of the deadly serious to the inane.  However, this question is somewhat serious to me.  You may have to excuse me, this one time, when I don’t have the same sort of levity that I normally do.  Also, as Polonius says in Hamlet, “Since brevity is the soul of wit, brief let me be.”  Actually, I plain to expatiate on this one (normally, I try to keep articles under 500-600 words).

To answer the question in brief, drinking (in and of itself) is not sinful.  I doubt many people will take issue with me when I say that drinking alcohol to excess is at least unwise (I’m avoiding the terminology of sinful here intentionally).  That is to say, our bodies tell us that it was unwise when we have headaches and hangovers. I would even go so far as to say that drinking and driving with the consequence that we injure or kill someone is, whatever terminology you want to substitute here, sinful.  Courts and legislature deem it to be criminal, and therefore, impose penalties on such individuals.  Call it mere convention, but the very name penitentiary implies that we are performing penance for acts that are deemed “sinful,” which is to say perpetrators are wrong and improper in an act toward someone or something.

Be that as it may, let’s assume that the real question is actually, and I believe this is the marrow of the question, “Is drinking any alcoholic beverage fundamentally a sinful act?”  Put another way, “Is alcohol inherently sinful?”  This, I believe, is really the core question.  Why would someone ask this question?  Most of the time, I think some well-meaning individuals say that it is sinful.  Fortunately, their listeners have the faculty to question this assessment, hence they search for the answer to whether or not it is. The well-meaning individual quotes a few bible verses, some statistics, their pastors, some other “authority,” some reason why it was a necessity then and not now, and call it a day.  Simply stated, they build a cumulative case on slight grounds and find more evidence to amass in order to take others captive to their convictions about alcohol.  As Paul says in Galatians, they came to spy on our freedom in Christ.

Okay, let’s take a couple bible verses first.  ”Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler.”  This Proverb is an oft quoted verse used to bolster the case against alcohol.  ”See, the bible is against drinking.”  Let’s read the rest of the verse, which says, “And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.”  Notice that drinking too much is the imperative section of the verse.  Moreover, too much drinking is relegated to a lack of wisdom, not sin.  Whatever else one may say, the beginning of Proverbs states its primary concern is not with sin but with wisdom.  One need only read the first few verses in order to ascertain this fact.  More specifically, the concern of Proverbs has to do with the context of wise court behavior (as in royal court).  More often than not, the point being made is for what might be called Aristotle’s “Golden Mean.”  That is to say that excess, greed (appetite or otherwise), and impulsive action is unwise.

In fact, ostensibly the same writer of Proverbs says in the Song of Songs 1:2 that “love is better than wine.” Of course, love is the primary concern, but the foundational assertion is based on the presumption wine is in of itself good to the point that it takes on a superlative quality.  The same author who “prohibited” its use in Proverbs extols its virtue in Song of Songs?  Is the bible wrong on this or has there been a misunderstanding?  I doubt that the person who says alcohol is wrong would say that bible must be wrong on this account.

What about not drinking as a cultural expedient?  ”Too much violence and loose living is associated with drinking,” some might say.  It’s true enough that some people can’t handle drinking.  It’s true enough that people wreck cars.  Some people have, let’s say, lowered inhibitions.  Many regretful mornings have happened when someone wakes up next to a stranger.  There are various grounds for not drinking too much.

Still, I can’t help but point out that we are not talking about the same thing.  The frequent, singular appeal often made by teetotalers has connections by one of two means.  One, they point to excess. I feel that I’ve dealt with the first of the two pretty thoroughly.  Two, they point to guilt by association.  Do I mean like Jesus associating himself with “tax collectors and sinner”?  I suppose I do.  The problem with the second is that surface judgments are rarely accurate.  (Also, the same person who would get on someone’s case about guilt by association might tell you something like, “God looks at the heart.”  Apparently it’s not all cases and all times.)

Here is my solution.  Fatty food is associated with obesity and heart disease. Heart issues are the number one killer in America.  My idea is to abstain from fatty food totally.  One step further, no food anymore; look at what it’s doing to some people.  Frequency doesn’t matter, portion doesn’t matter, and the health of the person eating doesn’t matter.  I’m just going to assume that everyone eats fatty foods excessively, will become fat, and will someday have a heart attack.  Furthermore, anybody I see at McDonald’s (or anybody who knows someone who eats there) has an obvious obesity and eating problem. How could it be otherwise?

I’m simply pointing out that it’s amazing what we choose to find “sinful.”  Actually, alcohol has some very well known health benefits, and maybe we could consider those as well.  Many of we Christians could rail against our own excesses of eating, etc., before castigating someone who sips a beer.

“They needed it back then but we don’t now.”  I’ve heard this one before.  Essentially, the argument runs along the lines of wine was safer than water.  It draws any enjoyment out of the drinking and relegates it to simply a matter of necessity.  Interestingly though, there will be wine in heaven.  Jesus said so explicitly.  I guess heaven’s water system is not quite as good as the one we’ve got here.  Seriously though, we will presumably not need to eat or drink in heaven to stay alive.  Yet, in scripture’s depiction of heaven, we will be doing both.  Why?  I think this is the bible’s way of pointing out that some things were made for our enjoyment and satisfaction.  The sheer joy of a good meal or good glass of wine seems to be of paramount importance to heaven.  That it to say, that God wants us to enjoy what he has (at least in the bible’s view) given us by inspiring the creation of culinary and viniary (I made this word up) delight.  More than this, it is interesting that people will make the argument about how beer was needed for safer living and then ignore the science that underscores the positive health effects of beer/wine.

I subscribe to (again, I think I coined this term) a theology of abundance.  I’ve stated before that beer was probably discovered by accident.  One major reason for this was excess grain.  Here is a link to my theoretical reconstruction.  The people were blessed with more than they could eat, so extra grain was used for different purposes.  Beer and or wine was discovered incidentally and without knowledge of the positive health effects.  The process for beer and wine (especially wine) was cultivated once its pleasing taste, effects, and qualities were accidentally discovered…perhaps divinely revealed is better terminology.

“The wine was weak, weaker, or not wine at all.”  Have you heard this one?  It’s amazing how many characters in scripture get drunk on something that doesn’t exist or is substantially weaker.  Granted, they were unwise to drink excessively and do what they did.  But their stories, like Proverbs, serve as a warning and not a prohibition. Admittedly, there were better and worse wines (like today), maybe even some weaker wines, but wine is weak because it is short on the grapes or it is watered down.  It’s not that strong wine couldn’t be made.  In fact, Jesus himself made the best (superlative) wine at the wedding feast in Galilee even after the guests had too much to drink.  Did Jesus sin by making and distributing wine to intoxicated people?  I suppose some people might stake their entire Christology on whether or not Jesus made, drank, and enjoyed real actual wine.  Absurd.  Perhaps our morality is not quite what the scriptures are on this one.  I also want to add that any discussion on the Greek word oinos meaning anything other than truly fermented drink is absurd.  Only ignorance drives this assumption.  Furthermore, Jesus stated the danger of putting new wine into old wineskin, presumably because of the expansion during fermentation.  The pressure of this weak, non-alcoholic, watered-down wine was such that it could bust animals skins, which are very tough, by the way.

Much more could be said about church history and the fact that the majority of it (even the pious!) has concluded that drinking is okay.  In fact, it took the American Puritan ethic to deny and destroy the beauty of church history on this issue (one of the unfortunate consequences of the degradation of concern for church history bequeathed by Luther; I’m Protestant, so don’t get me wrong when I say that and the point is not about the factious church anyway).

BUT DON’T DRINK IF YOU ARE AN ALCOHOLIC!!!!

In conclusion, I could have turned this into a 200 page book, so I’m not being real systematic about method, taking every verse into account, etc.  What I am doing is offering some thoughts on why I think people who believe that drinking is sinful are fundamentally misled in this misgivings.  I understand if your aunt Flo was an alcoholic and died of liver disease.  My own aunt died a few months ago due to severe alcoholism.  But I want to say to all of you who are searching the terms mentioned at the beginning of the post, you were right to ask the question.

Let me ask a question, too.  Is sin often excess and corruption of that which was made to be enjoyed?  Isn’t one major understanding of sin is a perversion of something God made to be good?  I would argue yes on both accounts.  All the more, I can say to you that sinful drinking is excessive drinking, if you want the biblical perspective.  I’m not a Buddhist, Muslim, or any other religion, so I won’t presume to answer the question from their doctrinal perspective.  I can certainly answer it from the perspective of a Christian, beer lover, and beer writer.  In my mind the unequivocal answer to your question is a resounding, “No!”

Beer did indeed save the life of a young child tonight.  Tonight as my family and I left our favorite purveyor of fine carbonated beverages, I cradled my beloved purchase gently:  a bottle of Collaboration Not Litigation Ale (review coming soon).  This bottle had to be pampered and kept upright, as I did not want to wait all of tonight and tomorrow for the unfiltered floaties to settle.

After all seat belts had been buckled, I took off through the parking lot at around 8 MPH.  Usually (at my wife’s disdain) I tear through parking lots at around 30MPH.  But with my bottle of not-to-be-disturbed beer in the cup-holder, this was a risk I could not take tonight.  Suddenly, from around a big red-neck-esque pickup hauling a race car of some sort, a child appeared in front of me.  I hit the brakes.  The child nearly escaped joining the splattered bugs on my hood.  Literally 1/2 a centimeter stood between my grill and his demise.

Had it not been for the beer, I would have been traveling three times as fast, and would probably be guilt stricken in an ER praying for the survival of a careless child (along with his even more careless parents).

Yes folks, once again, beer saves the day.

While I attempt to mix humor in this post, I truly did thank God for protecting that child.  I am not oblivious to the grave nature of the situation and will attempt to amend my parking lot driving practices in the future.  But this post serves a purpose besides humor and or intriguing content:  to provide an odd segue for one or more upcoming posts on the morality of consuming beer (and alcohol in general).

So please, don’t wait for future posts…bombard us with opinions at leisure or tell us of how beer has blessed your life!

On the drive to work today I tuned into a radio station based out of Detroit.  I listened as the DJ’s hailed St. Patrick’s day as “the best holiday all year ’cause we can drink beer for breakfast!!!!”  They were on sight at some pub–I didn’t catch the name–and were putting down green brewskis at 7:30 in the morning.  One of the DJ’s walked around the “pub” (it was one of these pubs) asking guys and gals alike to share there greatest sexual fantasy publicly.  Keep in mind this is being broadcast to millions of listeners in Detroit, Northwestern Ohio, and Windsor Canada.  Are you serious!?!?  Were the historical St. Patrick to visit us from his eternal resting place today, he would weep at how his name and work is being honored!

I was disheartened, and quickly tuned the dial to talk radio.

Anyone who reads this blogs knows that I never discourage intelligent beer consumption, but today’s holiday removes the “intelligent” from beer consumption.  What kills me is the historical disregard concerning St.Patrick’s day…a day set aside to honor an upright and moral man who spent his entire life doing good works.  Even if you are one who is not-so-spiritually minded, you must admit; this holiday has grown into an excuse for licentiousness.

On St.Patrick’s day do you consider the origins of the holiday:  Good works, the love of your brother, God, forgiveness (St.Patrick sought to save past his oppressors) or do you wake up with nothing but green beer on your mind?  The point is, why are we so obsessed, as a culture, with belligerent partying?

Odds are I’ll enjoy a brew tonight.  But odds are I will also tell my kids the real story of St. Patrick, which can be found here.

Now enjoy his post…it’s pretty funny.

How Can You Tell?

by Vince Marotte
There are a few things that are unique to the American Christian community that you don’t see in the rest of the world and one of those things is the mixed view on drinking. In the United States, not only do a large number of Christians abstain from Alcohol, but there is a disturbing amount of Christians that do not even consider it a gray area, but downright sin.

This creates a unique situation for those of us who wish to follow in the steps of Christ and partake and share a drink.

How can you tell if the company you are in will stone you if you order a drink at dinner, or if you bring your favorite ale to a gathering? Let’s be honest, there are a lot of people out there that would look down on you for life if you just came out and asked if it was cool if you ordered a drink. So in the interest of being safe, which I hate, here’s how I play it…

There are a lot of things to consider here, but lets start with the biggest group of ‘weaker vessels’ and work our way down.

Are they white?
Abstainers are almost exclusively white. There are some exceptions, especially in the denominational area. Since the grounds for abstaining are very much a cultural thing and not a Biblical mandate, culture is the first place to start. If they are ethnic there’s a good chance you’re safe, and if they are immigrants to the United States, I’d say you’re good to go. If they are white, you’d best dig a little deeper.

Denominational affiliation
This has gotten tricky in the last ten years with the boom in non-denominational churches that are pretty conservative. Better dig deeper.

Calvary Chapel – No chance. In fact, I think it is the only litmus for spiritual health at Calvary Chapel. Stick with water.

Any Baptist sect – C’mon. Do you need to be told?

Presbyterian – There’s a good chance you are fine. You may need to dig a little deeper. While you’re at it, ask them if they’re still saved.

Methodist or any other liturgical sect – Green light. Since they wish they were Catholic anyway. They probably have real wine in the church.

Catholic – Let’s be honest, they will drink you under the table.

Charismatic – No. Two reasons. Either they are a part of a hyper conservative branch or they are or know someone that is recovering from something. Besides, they would rather get drunk on the Holy Ghost right?

Fine Tuning the Decision
These first steps might not be enough to make you feel comfortable ordering your favorite IPA at BJ’s, so you may need to dig a little deeper.

Music – Stir up a conversation about music, to make it quick, ask their opinion about Radiohead. If they dig Radiohead, you’re good to go if they aren’t familiar, then dig a little deeper. If they have not heard of them, take it farther. You may think their opinion of U2 would be a good indicator, not so. Besides, I’m sick of hearing about U2. Generally if they seem to be deflecting to ‘Christian’ music and not mentioning ‘secular’ bands they dig, it’s a no go, order raspberry ice tea.

Movies – Again, make it quick. Ask them if they liked ‘Life Aquatic’. It’s a good movie to start with because if there is a chance they would be offended by it, then they haven’t heard of it and you can just move on and order a Shirley temple. Weather they liked it or not, if they have heard of it, they are probably in touch with reality and at this point you can just ask them straight up if it’s okay if you order a pint.

Yeah, it sucks to have to worry about this. But it’s the reality we live in. And let’s face it, we need these Christian brothers and sisters on our side, differences aside. This issue shouldn’t be one that divides us, that’s what Eschatology is for, right?

____________________________________________________________________

DENVER — In the beginning, there was a long line for Judgment Day ale.

Shortly after the doors opened on the 27th Great American Beer Festival, a crowd congregated at the booth offering that and other pours from The Lost Abbey of San Marcos, Calif., where the tap handle is a Celtic cross and the legacy of beer-brewing monks endures.

Standing under a banner promising “Inspired beers for Saints and Sinners Alike,” proprietor and former altar boy Tomme Arthur had a confession: He’s using God to sell some beer.

“It’s the oldest story ever told — the struggle between good and evil,” said Arthur, 35, a product of Catholic schools in his native San Diego. “There is a battle being waged between those who make good beer and those who make evil beer.”

Without question, unholy excess is in evidence anytime 18,000 gallons of alcohol is served to 46,000 people over three days. See: women in Bavarian maid outfits and “Beer Pong” tables.

Yet perhaps surprisingly, God could be found at last week’s Great American Beer Festival — in the crassly commercial, in homage to religion’s long history in brewing, in needling faiths that turn a suspect eye on drinking, and (if the prophet of home-brewing is to be believed) at the bottom of every glass.

While alcohol and religion don’t always mix, no less a figure than Benjamin Franklin once said: “Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

Charlie Papazian, author of “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing,” the undisputed bible of the craft, can cite many intersections of beer and the divine. Mayan and Aztec priests controlled the brewing of beer in pre-Columbian days, monks in Bavaria brewed strong bocks for sustenance during Lent and the first brewery in the Americas was founded by Belgium monks in Ecuador in 1534.

“As you drain a glass of beer, look at the yeast at the bottom and be reminded that God is good, because that’s the way it feels,” said Papazian.

Before Louis Pasteur pinpointed yeast as the culprit in the 1850s, brewers didn’t know what caused fermentation, said Papazian, president of the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association. So they invented one run-on word to describe the mysterious stuff at the bottom of the bottle: “Godisgood.”

Like most business owners, brewers tend to avoid politics and religion out of fear of alienating customers. At the same time, microbrewing has become an intensely competitive industry, so putting a saint on a bottle can help a guy stand out.

When Brock Wagner was looking to name his new brewery in Houston 14 years ago, his search took him to the library of a local Catholic seminary. There, he found the story of St. Arnold of Metz, the French saint of brewers and one of many patron saints of the brewing arts.

As the tale goes, Arnold (580-640) urged his people, “Don’t drink the water, drink beer” because he believed water boiled in beer was safer than tainted water sources.

Centuries later, St. Arnold Brewing Co. became Texas’ first craft brewery, with a “divine reserve” single-batch beer and 21 fermenters named for different saints.

“One purpose of religion is the formation of communities, and our brewery kind of has that effect, of bringing people together,” said Wagner, who describes himself as spiritual but wary of organized religion. “Some of our regulars say going on our brewery tour is going to church.”

Jeremy Cowan, the marketing mind behind He’Brew (the chosen beer), was absent from his company’s booth on the festival’s first day; it was Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement.

Established in 1996 (or 5757), Cowan’s Schmaltz Brewing Co. uses Jewish humor, scripture and imagery in packaging its beers, all of them kosher. There’s Genesis Ale (“our first creation”) Messiah Bold (“the one you’ve been waiting for”) and Jewbelation (“L’Chaim!”).

“I am passionately Jewish,” Cowan said. “I don’t get as caught up in the legal minutiae. I’m more fascinated in the project of Judaism as a civilization. This is the way I participate.”

Some faith traditions reject alcohol as an intoxicant that invites bad behavior and abuse. Observant Muslims and Mormons, among others, abstain from drinking on religious grounds.

Last year, an evangelical church targeting young adults in the St. Louis area got in trouble with the Missouri Baptist Convention for holding a church ministry at a microbrewery. (The Southern Baptist Convention opposes making, advertising, distributing and consuming alcohol).

At Denver’s Great American Beer Festival, four ex-Mormons who met at Utah State University ran a booth selling “X-Communicated Mormon Drinking Team” T-shirts, sweatshirts and other products.

“Our business model is to sell enough T-shirts to pay the cost of a group of our friends getting together and having fun for the weekend,” said Mike Hansen, 36, of Whitefish, Mont.

Another entrepreneur peddled “WWJB: What Would Jesus Brew?” T-shirts, with an image of a smiling Jesus with a mash paddle in one hand and a pint glass in the other.

Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Co. in Santa Rosa, Calif., brews a series of religion-themed beers that began with “Damnation.” A strong golden ale, the beer’s name is a nod to the great Belgian beer Duval, which comes from the Flemish word for devil.

A restaurant around the corner from Cilurzo’s brewery refused to stock it.

“It all started with ‘Damnation,’” said Cilurzo, who has no religious affiliation. “I felt like if we started with ‘Damnation,’ we needed to be redeemed. We needed ‘Salvation.’”

Cilurzo’s latest creation, Consecration, was a festival hit and an answered prayer — a richly textured sour ale aged for nine months in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with black currants.

God is good.

So said Benjamin Franklin…supposedly.  Not really true!

Histories and religions never develop in isolation (in my humble opinion).  Whether the former affects the latter more or viceversa is certainly a matter opinion. Beer history is no different.  As long as there has been beer, there has been some deity or saint so associated.  In the days, months, and years to come at THFB, we intend from time on discussing the various intertwining of the draught and the divine.   While posts of this nature will not be linear by any means, there is no better place to kick things off than at the beginning.

Some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago nomadic humans began settling down as they discovered the joys consistencies of agrarian living.   Most likely there first crops were grains. The earliest known records of intentional beer brewing are found amongst the Ancient Sumerians.  Originally this happened by chance…maybe one of these primitive farmers left a wet piece of bread out, it fermented, and was eaten and accompanied by a desirable side effect.  Beer was discovered.

Imagine what that ancient man thought, supposing it were a piece of fermented bread. He grew the grain, combined the ingredients, and baked the bread. The bread got wet. It fermented. He ate it. His head swam.  He saw his dead grandfather.   Instead of seeing the process as fermentation, he saw it as: bread+water+time=INEBRIATION!!!

The god (in this case goddess) to whom the work of fermentation later was credited is Ninkasi. Ninkasi, who was born of pure water, was the goddess of beer. She was said to “satisfy one’s desire and sate one’s heart.” A hymn to Ninkasi, found on ancient seal (1800 BC) not only pays homage to the giver of the divine brew, but gives an ancient beer recipe.   In 1989 the Anchor Brewing Company, after much scholarly research, reduplicated the recipe and produced a beer named after the goddess.  Anchor’s website describes the process in fascinating detail, I would suggest checking it out. Apparently the recipe is available in Charlie Papazian’s, “The Complete Joy of Home Brewing,” for any homebrewers adventurous enough to attempt “baking” their beer.

While I doubt any readers of this blog believe in Ninkasi’s existence enough to thank her, I hope at some point in the future as you revel in the joy a beer affords you )as expressed by Franklin), you’ll think of the ancient Summerian’s and the delectable legacy they left for us.  So without further ado, The Hymn to Ninkasi:

Hymn to Ninkasi

Borne of the flowing water,
Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag,
Borne of the flowing water,
Tenderly cared for by the Ninhursag,

Having founded your town by the sacred lake,
She finished its great walls for you,
Ninkasi, having founded your town by the sacred lake,
She finished it’s walls for you,

Your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,
Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake.
Ninkasi, your father is Enki, Lord Nidimmud,
Your mother is Ninti, the queen of the sacred lake.

You are the one who handles the dough [and] with a big shovel,
Mixing in a pit, the bappir with sweet aromatics,
Ninkasi, you are the one who handles the dough [and] with a big shovel,
Mixing in a pit, the bappir with [date] – honey,

You are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,
Ninkasi, you are the one who bakes the bappir in the big oven,
Puts in order the piles of hulled grains,

You are the one who waters the malt set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the potentates,
Ninkasi, you are the one who waters the malt set on the ground,
The noble dogs keep away even the potentates,

You are the one who soaks the malt in a jar,
The waves rise, the waves fall.
Ninkasi, you are the one who soaks the malt in a jar,
The waves rise, the waves fall.

You are the one who spreads the cooked mash on large reed mats,
Coolness overcomes,
Ninkasi, you are the one who spreads the cooked mash on large reed mats,
Coolness overcomes,

You are the one who holds with both hands the great sweet wort,
Brewing [it] with honey [and] wine
(You the sweet wort to the vessel)
Ninkasi, (…)(You the sweet wort to the vessel)

The filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound,
You place appropriately on a large collector vat.
Ninkasi, the filtering vat, which makes a pleasant sound,
You place appropriately on a large collector vat.

When you pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat,
It is [like] the onrush of Tigris and Euphrates.
Ninkasi, you are the one who pours out the filtered beer of the collector vat,
It is [like] the onrush of Tigris and Euphrates.