27 March 2011

Fasting on Beer

Following the tradition of a group of 17th-century Bavarian friars, this fellow is living on nothing but doppelbock for Lent.
The beer, which is sweeter, stronger and darker than normal lager, is filled with nutrients and was called “liquid bread”. Doppelbock received papal approval in the late 1600s, so the legend goes, because the Paulaner friars sent a cask of the brew to Rome which turned sour on the long journey across the Alps. The pope tasted the sour liquid and decided that anything so disgusting must be good for penitents, giving it his sanction.
He's documenting his fast on his blog.