A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Nestled in the trees above the town of Mount Angel, Oregon, is Mount Angel Abbey. It was founded in 1882 by Benedictine monks from Switzerland. Lisa Wood of Oregon Public Radio gives us a taste of what their spiritual successors are up to.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHURCH BELLS)
LISA WOOD, BYLINE: When I first arrived, I met Father Vincent Trujillo. He's been at the monastery 65 years and points me to a very specific part of the complex.
VINCENT TRUJILLO: An important outreach that we have is in a very surprising area, and that's in the brewery. The monks like to go down there and mingle with the crowds and even help out whenever they can.
UNIDENTIFIED MONKS: (Chanting in non-English language).
WOOD: Mount Angel is one of the very few monasteries left in the United States with a brewery that's run by actual monks using the centuries-old monastic traditions. The recipe calls for a lot of prayer.
(SOUNDBITE OF SPRAYING)
MARTIN GRASSEL: Benedictine monks have a really long history in brewing.
WOOD: That's Father Martin Grassel. He's the brewer and manager of the Benedictine Brewery. We met up when I went back to the brewery this winter.
GRASSEL: After the fall of the Roman Empire, with the collapse of Western civilization, there was very little structure left. And the monks became the brewers of the day.
WOOD: He says they needed beer for themselves because the water wasn't safe to drink.
(SOUNDBITE OF GRAIN POURING)
WOOD: In the small brewery behind the St. Michael Taproom, Father Martin is starting a batch of one of their dark beers, appropriately titled Black Habit. Some of the other names are Dark Knight, St. Benedict, Tyrant, St. Michael Helles - you get the idea. When it comes to sourcing ingredients, some come straight from the abbey.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER GUSHING)
GRASSEL: The hops are all local. In fact, some of them are grown on our land. The biggest ingredient in beer is, of course, water. That comes from our own well. I just have to filter it. Work and pray. That's what this life is about.
WOOD: He weighs out his ingredients meticulously. But before any brewing starts, Father Martin blesses the process over the hiss and hum of the pumps and tanks in the brewery.
GRASSEL: Father in Heaven, once again bless the work that lies before us today. Let us know your presence, your love, and help us to glorify you and let this beer glorify you through Christ our Lord.
WOOD: Today, another resident of the monastery is assisting in the brewery. He pours in the ingredients, and Father Martin keeps it all moving with a large wooden paddle. It's incredibly rigorous work. In about a week or so, it will be a new batch of Black Habit, ready to be bottled or kegged and sold.
Father Martin produces about 230 barrels of beer a year. But he actually started out as a software engineer who was involved in his local parish.
GRASSEL: People started suggesting I be a priest, or they thought I was the priest, and I couldn't get the idea out of my head. The bishop sent me to Mount Angel Seminary. I came in 1995, so it's been 30 years now.
WOOD: He wasn't a brewer when he came to Mount Angel. He was barely a beer drinker. But one day, an employee offered him some homebrewing equipment.
GRASSEL: I couldn't fathom, so I thanked her, but - no, I have no interest in brewing beer. But that dumb idea stuck in my head, and I went back to her and said, do you still have that? I fell in love with the process, so I just kept reading and talking to brewers.
WOOD: St. Benedict taught that monks could and should pursue their art and craft, including brewing. But there are parameters.
GRASSEL: If it becomes a matter of pride where the monk feels like he's bestowing something on the monastery, then he's no longer to practice that. This is really a spiritual life. The monk's No. 1 pursuit is his own spiritual growth.
WOOD: Before anything can be served, Father Martin adds what he calls their secret ingredient. He blesses the taproom with a prayer and holy water every day.
GRASSEL: Welcome to the St. Michael Taproom. We're going to do the blessing, so please join us for that.
WOOD: The taproom is quiet, and that's by design. There's no music, no TV - just a space for people to gather, socialize and enjoy the fruits of Father Martin's work.
GRASSEL: It's a special feeling when I can be back brewing a batch of beer, and I hear the happy roar in the taproom. I do hope that they're experiencing something unique.
WOOD: And the message on Father Martin's beer bottles is pretty simple - taste and believe.
For NPR News, I'm Lisa Wood in Mount Angel, Oregon.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE PRO-TEENS' "ONE BEER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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