Today is Ash Wednesday, and if Twitter is any indication of the Zeitgeist (and I think it is) a lot of people are giving up beer for Lent. What someone gives up for Lent is very much a personal decision, but before giving up beer for 40 days, you should know one thing: “Liquida non frangunt ieiunium.” Or in English, “Liquids do not break the fast.”
Beer not only doesn’t break the fast, but for medieval monks it helped maintain the fast. During their strict fasting period, monks brewed higher-gravity beers that provided the calories and nutrients necessary to sustain them when food would not. The monks had to create a beer that could sustain them like a food without technically being considered a food — is it any wonder beer is often referred to as “liquid bread”? It is interesting to think that many of the Trappist beers that we craft beer lovers crave might not be around had the monks not brewed them out of necessity.
Today, the Aecht Schlenkerla Lentbeer, also known as the Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier, is served only between Ash Wednesday and Easter. This smoked beer (or Rauchbier) is also one of the 16 wonderful beers currently on tap at Vintner Wine Market in Charlotte. Don’t let the name fool you — the Vintner Wine Market is more than just a wine store. It is one of the finest beer destinations in the Queen City, and Charlotte beer enthusiasts owe it to themselves to check it out. They have just doubled the amount of draft beers available (from eight to 16), and many of these beers are limited or fairly hard to come by.
What one gives up for Lent is a very personal decision, and I do understand that the whole point is to give up something that is not easily parted with. But wouldn’t it be a shame to give up beer during the only forty-day stretch the smoked Fastenbier is available?
Oh, and if you want to know the secret mystery beer at Vintner, drop me a line (I cannot guarantee this mystery beer is still available).