How Bavarian monks endured Lent

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

In the 1600s, medieval monks in Bavaria were given strict orders to not eat solid food during Lent.

Instead of just drinking water, the monks decided to create a batch of extremely potent beer that was packed with carbohydrates and nutrients. They then named the drink, sankt-vater-bier, which roughly translates to "Holy Father beer."

In 2011, a journalist by the name of J. Wilson contacted a local brewery in an effort to recreate this beer. He went on to drink it for 46 days during Lent and did not consume any solid food. His diet consisted of drinking four glasses of beer each day during the weekdays and five glasses of beer each day on the weekends.

Wilson noticed that during the first few days of his experiment that he would get quite hungry, however, his body quickly learned to adjust. "My body... switched gears, replaced hunger with focus, and I found myself operating in a tunnel of clarity unlike anything I'd ever experienced."

In the end, Wilson lost 25 pounds.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

I read elsewhere that the monks sent a sample to Rome for approval. The cardinals, who were accustomed to wine, thought that it was indeed foul and would serve as a good liquid for fasting.