The Beer Option: Brewing a Catholic Culture, Yesterday & Today

The Beer Option proposes a renewal of Catholic culture by attending to the small things of life and ordering them toward the glory of God and the good of the community. Beer has played a surprising role in the history of Catholic culture, spurred on by the prayer and work of brewing monks. As we confront the many challenges of our time, beer can play a role in refermenting a local and home economy, drawing people together in festivity and friendship in the warm beauty of lost traditions. Consumed in moderation, beer can contribute to healthy, holy, and happy living. This book offers a tour through Catholic history and Benedictine spirituality, illustrating how beer fits within a robustly Catholic culture. Imitating the monks in the art of brewing, Christians may come to serve others through hospitality and evangelization, contributing in this perhaps unexpected way to the larger task of restoring relationships and reshaping society.

“An excellent resource for understanding the crucial task of rebuilding Catholic culture with our families. At a time when the prevailing culture promotes excess as the road to happiness, this valuable book helps cultivate a moderate enjoyment of God’s gifts—beer included!”—MOST REVEREND SAMUEL J. AQUILA, Archbishop of Denver

“Before there were cocktails, there was beer—a perfect illustration of Christianity’s capacity to baptize the best of what is human. Invented by those heathen Babylonians, beer was taken up and perfected in the medieval monasteries, parishes, and homes of Europe, and continues to form a healthy part of Catholic culture around the world. Jared Staudt’s Beer Option brings out these basic truths, and more, showing us—with effervescent cheer and orthodox acumen—how beer can continue to be a blessing around the Catholic hearth.”—MICHAEL P. FOLEY, author of Drinking with the Saints

“When H. G. Wells accused Chesterton and Belloc of placing a ‘boozy halo’ around Catholicism, his backhanded compliment backfired. The truth is that Belloc and Chesterton restored ‘laughter and the love of friends’ to their rightful place at the heart and hearth of Christendom. This being so, it is truly delightful that Jared Staudt offers us The Beer Option. My advice is that we take it as often as prudence and the love of friends dictates. I raise a glass to Dr. Staudt, wishing him all good things that Christendom brings, but especially barley brew!”—JOSEPH PEARCE, Senior Editor at the Augustine Institute

“Everyone seems to be about the business of ‘renewing culture,’ but Jared Staudt shows us how our rich and vibrant traditions can inform and transform us now, and how, in the case of The Beer Option, such a renewal of culture is right under our noses. Exploring the role of monks in rebuilding western culture—in part through beer—this book happily inspires us to join the renewal through our own ora et labora.”—JASON CRAIG, Vice President of Program for Fraternus