Last time we talked about St Arnold of Soissons, patron saint of Belgian beer and brewing. But he is not the only saint with skin in the beer game. I once idly searched on "patron saint of beer" and found a rich variety of answers. Here are some of them.
(The co-option of beer by male saints is a relatively new phenomenon - new as in no more than 2000 years old. In most early cultures, beer was a gift given to women by an earth goddess. There has been a bit of a thing over the centuries in terms of us blokes seeking to wrest control of beer, sometimes with unfortunate consequences. More on this another time.)
To start with, a name that sometimes comes up is that of the legendary Belgian beer saint/king Gambrinus. But that's the problem - Gambrinus is legendary. As in not real.
The first name of an actual person that I came across was St Luke the Apostle. There is no good evidence as to why, beyond the fact that he is identified in an ill-defined way with the harvest.
There is another Arnold, this time the 6th century bishop of Metz. Arnold of Metz waxed lyrical on the subject of beer, declaring that "from man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world". During his funeral procession, his casket spouted beer when the bearers prayed for refreshment on a hot day. I mean, someone said that happened so it must be true, right?
We have St Vaclav of Bohemia, which was where the finest hops - Saaz hops - were grown. St Vaclav took a personal interest in preserving local beer production to the point of decreeing the death penalty for anyone who exported Saaz hops. A bit robust for the man that we know as Good King Wenceslas.
St Nicholas of Turkey - Santa Claus himself - has also been named as a beer saint, for understandable reasons related to fatness, laughter and general cheerfulness.
But female saints do get representation in the form of the 5th century St Bridget of Ireland. A lyrical poem of hers has been found in Brussels (of course), in which she said that she "should like a great lake of ale for the King of the Kings. I should like the family of heaven to be drinking it for all time, eternal". What is more, she could (allegedly) pull off the very useful trick of turning her dirty bath water into beer to refresh visitors to her abbey. St Bridget has to be my favourite because I cannot resist a saint whose piety manifests in such a way. I hope that this inspires you as we approach the season of goodwill.
In the meantime, let me share with you what I am drinking right now. A staple brewery that I often fall back on is Brewdog, Scottish pioneers of the craft beer movement and consistently excellent. You will have seen the likes of Punk IPA, Elvis Juice and Dead Pony Club in the supermarket. Look closely and you may find their strong and flavourful New England Hop IPA, Hazy Jane. Or, a current favourite, a limited edition oat cream IPA called Duopolis - smooth, creamy and delicious.