The Catholic Roots of Beer and Pretzels

Bulletin Column – September 29, 2019

            Well! October is right around the corner (hard to believe when the temps have been in the 80s!) and that means that there will be a considerable amount of Oktoberfest celebrations! While it is always a great time to celebrate all things German, some of the often-consumed foods have Catholic roots.

            Perhaps most associated with Oktoberfest is beer, one of the oldest and most popular drinks. Beer was around well before Catholicism, but it was Catholic monks who perfected and popularized the drink in several ways:

- The addition of hops (to preserve the beer and add its classically bitter taste) was an invention of abbots. It is first mentioned in the ninth century by an abbot under Charlemagne, and also by St. Hildegard of Bingen, a twelfth-century abbess and mystic.

            - Monasteries were the first to mass-produce and distribute beer. There are records of brewing beer in monasteries as far back as the fifth century. At one point over 600 Catholic monasteries in Europe were producing beer. Monks would sell their brew to provide for the material needs of the monastery, and since Benedictine monasteries in particular emphasized the virtues of hospitality, their own beer was offered to guests and travelers who stopped by.

            - Monks were also responsible for the development of dark beer. During Lent and other periods of fasting, the monks would often survive on meager rations, which included beer. To increase the caloric content of beer, they would throw in honey, bread, and fruit. The resulting brews were often very popular.

            - There are even patron saints of beer! St. Arnulf (Arnold) of Metz, who once said, “From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world” – he was known to do miracles related to beer. Once, when a plague struck his town, he placed a crucifix in a vat of beer and urged the townspeople to drink. Those who did so were cured of the plague (the antibacterial properties of the alcohol could have helped…). And according to legend, after his death, his friends were carrying his coffin to its final resting place when they grew tired and went inside of a tavern to have a drink (must’ve been quite some funeral procession!). The tavern owner told them there was only one mug of beer left. They prayed to St. Arnulf, and began to pass around the stein – which miraculously kept refilling itself so that every man had plenty to drink.

            - Of course who could forget the great Catholic thinker GK Chesterton’s love for beer! He once said, “Catholicism is the only religion that sees no contradiction between a pint, a pipe, and the Cross.” But he also said, “I love beer so much that I don’t drink too much of it” – recognizing that even good things must be enjoyed in moderation. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, “Drink to the point of hilarity, and no further!”

            What goes best with beer? Pretzels, which also have Catholic roots. According to Snyder’s of Hanover (one of the biggest Pretzel manufacturers in America), the pretzel was founded in the early 600s when a monk, needing to bake something during Lent that would fit with the penitential theme of the season, rolled salted dough into the shape of arms crossed across the chest, which was a popular position for prayer. It was both a food of fasting and a reminder to pray, all in one!

            The name “pretzel” had two religious etymologies. One story says that it comes from the Latin “bracelle”, meaning “little arms”. The other story says that these baked treats were given out to children when they had learned their prayers. The Latin word for “little reward” is “pretiola”, from which we might get “pretzel”.

            This October, enjoy Oktoberfest and all things German…in moderation, of course!