Kasper On Tap: Lenten beer - Baltimore Sun columnist Rob Kasper blogs about beer

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February 9, 2009

Lenten beer

Just in time for Lent, which begins Feb. 25, Shiner has released Commemorator, a dark brew modeled after the starkbier, or "liquid bread," that once kept European monks going during their Lenten fast.

The beer commemorates the 100-year anniversary of the Spoetzel brewery started in Shiner, Texas, in 1909 by some Czech and German home brewers trying to replicate the beers of their homeland.

It poured very dark and had smooth malt notes. The Shiner Web site describes it as an ale brewed in the Doppelbock traditon.

I got a sample Commemorator six-pack shipped from the brewery. It was very smooth and the toasted caramel flavor reminded me of candy, which I used to give up during Lent.

This is a beer I could drink during Lent and never suffer. The alcohol by volume is 6.8 percent.

It costs about $6-$7 a six pack. Bond, I am told, is the local distributor.

Do you give up beer for Lent? Or, instead, do you fast from food and just drink beer?

Posted by Rob Kasper at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Brew reviews

Comments

Three years ago I gave up beer for Lent. It was difficult, but I did it. I would still go to my favorite watering-hole with my buddies though, wings and club sode just doesn' work!

I do give up sweets which is a lot easier than giving up my Nattybohs!

Posted by: Nattyboh | February 9, 2009 12:42 PM

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About Rob Kasper

Rob Kasper, a features columnist, has been writing about beer for 20 years, and he remembers when Anchor Christmas and Noche Buena were about the only beers at a holiday tasting and Sisson’s was the only brewpub in Baltimore. A collection of his columns, "Raising Kids and Tomatoes, Amusing Tales and Appetizing Recipes," was published in 1998. He lives with his wife, Judith, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, in a downtown Baltimore rowhouse. They have two grown sons, who come home from time to time and drink their father’s beer.
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