Health

Saint Hildegard Beer : An amazing surprise!

colleen General, Hildegard of Bingen , , , , ,

Yes this is real . A can of beer called St Hildegard.

What a surprise when my son-in-law sent me a iphone photo of a St Hildegard can of beer.

He was at a hotel for a celebration and was so excited when he saw this can. I think everybody quickly became aware his mother-in-law had research and written about this woman and this was exciting news for Brendan to relate to me . Then for my birthday the family  bought me a carton  of Hildegard beer !!!!and it has been good for toasting the wonderful milestones my book  Hildegard of Bingen: A poetic journey has achieved.

This beer celebrates Saint Hildegard – who I know as Hildegard of Bingen.

I see Hildegard an inspiration but am just learning young people in pubs are celebrating her as the  first person to describe hops in a scientific manner.

The  back of the can reads:
Brewery: Hawkers Beer
Style: American Pale Ale
Format: 375ml Can
ABV: 4.6%
This beer celebrates Saint Hildegard, the first person to describe hops in a scientific manner. During her life, she was a brewer, mystic, prophet, composer, and prolific writer on religion and the natural world.

Mel’s hop-forward XPA predominately features Yakima Chief Hops’ Pink Boots Blend, consisting of a well-rounded mix of Pacific Northwestern hop varieties including Loral, Mosaic, Simcoe, Sabro, and Glacier.

A portion of the profits from this beer will be donated to Pink Boots Australia and the Asylum Seeker Research Centre.

Hawkers/Pink Boots/ Cryer Malt Saint Hildegard XPA

A collaboration with Pink Boots Australia.

Mel’s hop-forward XPA predominately features Yakima Chief Hops’ Pink Boots Blend, consisting of a well-rounded mix of Pacific Northwestern hop varieties including Loral, Mosaic, Simcoe, Sabro, and Glacier.

A portion of the profits from this beer will be donated to Pink Boots Australia and the Asylum Seeker Research Centre. This made me very excited that a beer called after Hildegard was helping asylum seekers. 

Hildegard and Hops

Wild hops had long been consumed by ancient Romans and used medicinally in different parts of the world for their anti-microbial, anti-spasmodic, and sedative qualities. So her observations of melancholy were apt, albeit arguably a bit shortsighted.

“Hops are the soul of beer.” – Jim Koch, Founder, Boston Beer Company

But given that hops had not been used in beer-making previously, and they were a long way from being ubiquitous or oft-cultivated, it is not surprising that the many benefits of hops had eluded Hildegard.  However, knowing Hildegard’s fondness for bitter tasting foods, it makes sense that she be the one to include this naturally bitter flavor in what we know of today as beer.

Some pointers I picked up from healthyhildegard.com  the wonderful informative website.

Health benefits of beer according to Hildegard

In her book,Causae et Curae, Hildegard wrote: “…[beer] positively affects the body when moderately consumed…beer fattens the flesh and…lends a beautiful color to the face.”

As it turns out, she was right on all accounts. Particularly regarding moderation. While far from a health tonic, beer does offer some unique qualities that have proven beneficial when consumed in moderation as part of a healthy lifestyle. Moderation is important.

  1. Increased bone density
  2. Anti-Inflammatory
  3. Cancer fighter ( the flavonoids in hops contribute to the health benefits of beer including preventing cancerous cell growth.
  4. Cardiovascular Health ( of course in moderation and discretio
  5. Reduced risk of kidney stones
  6. Digestive health
  7. Reduced risk of alzheimersAs the long shadows of autumn cue us to bring in the harvest and prepare for the coming winter, get outside and enjoy the turning of the seasons. And if you are so inclined, find a long table in a park or a local brewpub and hoist a beer with friends and family, fatten your flesh (just a little), and don those rosy cheeks. In moderation or discretio, of course.

    Prost!

Viriditas: Poetic Journey

colleen Hildegard of Bingen, Poetry , , , , , , , , , ,

 

IMG_280127400022_10159988751120486_1246975367_n

This is one of my reflective times in Hildegard’s Kapelle at the ruins of her
Disibodenberg Monastery in Germany where Hildegard
lived for the first 38 years of her Religious life. And the snowbells are a first of spring moment of viriditas taken by my daughter Elizabeth Keating-Jones in Sussex England.
Disibodenberg nurtured Hildegard. She listened to the vitality of the greeness and alivemenss of her world. She made the word “Viriditas” and heard the Spirit whisper to her but still young and fearful as a woman she clams shut. Even though this suppressing her thoughts and feelings made her sick many times, she still not know how to go forward.

Viriditas  A word coined and made famous by Hildegard. The word combines the essence of truth and green, meaning vitality, fecundity, lushness, verdure and growth.  Hildegard  uses it metaphorically as vitality. She sees it in the moist fresh greens..In her writings viriditas means the ‘greening power of God’

Hildegard was one of the first to speak of nutrition being linked to wellbeing.
She saw food as medicine.  And as we will read as my story of Hildegard unfolds
she cares for her sisters well being.

 

Viriditas

After the rains
Hildegard tends the garden
knee deep
in wet grass,
up to her elbows in soil,
worms, snails
and ruff of leaf compost.

Marvels at the ramble
of a pumpkin vine,
a stray seed gone free.
Lingers in the fragrance
of chives and basil,
coriander, lavender and mint,
and the smell of parsley.

Savours their bouquet.
Being jubilant
with the flirt of white moths,
and the canticle of bird song
from an oak branch above.
Dwells on her knees
as if in prayer.

Hildegard stands
her hands on her lower back
stretches and arches
skywards. wisping clouds
ruffle and the  Light whispers,

I am the breeze that nurtures all things green
I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits
I am the rain coming from the dew
that causes the grasses to laugh
with the joy of life. 

Fearful of her own mystery
she clams shut this light
into the tight knot of her gut.

 

Hildegard’s Highest rated foods
Spelt, chestnuts, fennel and chickpeas (garbanzo beans).

“Spelt creates healthy body, good blood and a happy outlook on life,” – Hildegard

Hildegard-Medieval-Diet-Healthiest

A website healthyhildegard.com is an excellent resource. Thank you to the creators of it . It is an inspiration.
Other resources that focus on Hildegard and health
Dr. Wighard Strenhlow, Hildegard of Bingen:Spiritual Remedies, Healing Art Press 2002
Dr. Wighard Strenhlow, & Dr. Gottfried Hertzka, Hildegard of Bingen’s Medicine, Bear & Co. 1988.
Jany Fournier-Rosset, From Saint Hildegard’s Kitchen Foods of Health, Foods of Joy, Liguori Publ. 2010.
Victoria Sweet, God’s Hotel, A Doctor, A Hospial, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine. Riverhead Books 2012