A German Doppelbock. Looks like a holy beer to me...
CNN’s Belief Blog has a column this weekend by J. Wilson, a guy who, for Lent last year, had absolutely no food, just beer. You can read it here. A self-acknowledged “beer geek”, his motivation was his interest in the German Doppelbock style of beer, which, legend has it, was developed by 17th century monks to sustain them during their Lenten fasts.
Is it a gimmicky piece? Sure. But I think he manages to capture a bit of the heart of this season’s devotional practices, even if he’s no theologian: “It left me with the realization that the monks must have been keenly aware of their own humanity and imperfections. In order to refocus on God, they engaged this annual practice not only to endure sacrifice, but to stress and rediscover their own shortcomings in an effort to continually refine themselves.”
Now I wonder if I can convince the Missus to let me try this next Lent…
