Lent Beers

We're used to year-round availability of specialities that were previously only around at a particular time. You can buy hot cross buns at the supermarket in November; there's no more waiting until Easter for Cadbury's creme eggs. These might be fairly trivial examples given the power of the supermarket system to remove any connection between what we eat and the time of year - but it's all part of a gradual (or not-so-gradual) dismantling of the way in which the passage of time is reflected in our activities. This sort of thing goes hand in hand with the ongoing elimination of locality when it comes to food. So this post is going to introduce some beer specialities that are seasonal and, often, very local - drinks that I might have tracked down here and there, and others that will require a trip to the area of production at some time in the future. I'll start with a couple from Germany and occasionally add more as we go through Lent.

According to Roger Protz' rather patchy coffee table book The Taste of Beer, the German Doppel Bock is a strong beer based on brews originally produced in monastic communities for consumption during Lent. The German Beer Institute broadly agree with this. The most widely-available example that I've seen is the 'Salvator' produced by the Paulaner brewery in Munich. If it is tapped on St Joseph's Day this year (19 March), there won't be much time to drink it in what remains of Lent! Augustiner's Maximator Doppelbock, a potent, dark and spicy brew, is available now and is also highly recommended.

One beer that I am slightly obsessed with trying would require a trip to the beautiful city of Bamberg in Franconia, sometime between Ash Wednesday and Easter. It's a long way to travel from the UK, especially with two children in tow and if you want to avoid flying. So it's definitely one for lots of planning for the future. The weather during February is obviously another factor - as you can't spend *all* day in the pub! When we visited Bamberg six or seven years ago, one of the brewpubs we visited was the premises of Schlenkerla brewery - which produces probably the most famous and widely-available 'smoked' beer. It's very much an acquired taste and gets this taste from the practice of smoking the malt over beechwood. I love the stuff: but I've never tasted their Fastenbier (Lent Beer - pictured above). As you can see from the link, it's only available on draft on the premises (and the Americans get a few barrels, it seems) and it sounds wonderful. It appeals to the same rationale that increased the strength of the Munich Doppelbocks - being an indication of its nourishing qualities during the period of fasting. One day...