St. Benedict's Beer

St. Arnold of Metz once said, “From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world.” Indeed the fruit of the grain has flowed and frothed from many a pint, throughout the world. To keep with the tradition of beer creation, a brewery has come back into the public eye, from a lush and ancient town at the bottom of a mountain, whose prayerful walls and quiet stirrings, remain to this day, the center of the Benedictine Order. The peaceful city of Nursia, from where the great sibling-saints (Benedict and Scholastic) hale, a new scent has sent this gently city stirring. 

The brewery of this ancient monastery "carries with it hundreds of years of history. It rests tranquilly within the walls of the monastery that date back a millennium and is crowned at the entrance with a fresco of the Blessed Virgin Mary upon grains of barley. From ancient times, monks have understood that their vision of life must be shared with society by means of earthly experiences; otherwise it becomes closed off and isolated from the world.

In the course of monastic history, Benedictine monks have given witness to the presence of God in the world in many ways.  First of all, through their daily rhythm of prayer, monks have sought to remind themselves and the entire world that the only way to true happiness must have the God of salvation at its center.  A vision of the world without God will always leave us empty and incomplete.

But from ancient times, monks have understood that this vision of life must be shared with society by means of earthly experiences, otherwise it becomes closed off and isolated from the world.  Monks have implemented this view in the liturgy, with the singing of Gregorian Chant, the use of incense, and the use of bells—things which involve all of man’s senses, as well as in the area of study, seeking to enlighten the farthest reaches of the human intellect, and finally in work aimed at bringing forth the fruits of the earth which nourish the human body.  In all of these undertakings, monks have never ceased to sanctify material things in order to make them paths that lead to God." (Brewery )

The monastery has created two styles of beer, a light and buoyant blond and a reflective darker beer, rich in color and deep in flavor. Not as light as a blond, but not as heavy as a stout. 

One pilgrim reflects upon his journey to these hallowed halls and describes it in the following. "To start: pecorino slices drizzled with local honey infused with elder berries. Then: pasta with summer truffles shaved generously onto the plate. For the main meal, a roast wild boar with roasted local root vegetables. Bottles of the local mineral water and, following on our new friend’s example, the house red wine washed it all down.

 
When it was time for dessert, our Belgian friend eschewed the sweets and invited us to join him for a plate of figs and a couple of large bottles of Birra Nursia Extra up on the outdoor terrace of the restaurant. Figs and dark Belgian-style beer made fresh by the monks just steps away while Diana the hunter rose in the southern sky, talk about alignment!" Truly a taste of heaven.