MKEimages.com Image of the Week
Our "Image of the Week" is of Father Brian Mason from Old St. Mary's Parish performing the Blessing of the Bock ceremony this past Sunday at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery. The 23rd Annual Blessing of the Bock Festival benefited the Museum of Beer & Brewing, included the traditional Blessing of the Bock ceremony, and live polka. The ritual, during which clergy bless the traditional beer of spring, has roots dating back centuries. It was common for monasteries to brew bock beers, a darker-colored, higher-alcohol content beer, as a special drink to share around Lent. Also a large selection of Bock beers and homebrews from all over the Midwest were available along with brewers from Wisconsin and Illinois microbreweries and brewpubs. Check out the MKEimages.com YouTube channel for videos of the event including the actual blessing.
Photo Credit: Mark Bertieri
The Actual Blessing:
Bless this creature beer which by kindness and power has been produced from kernels of grain. May it be a healthful drink fof mankind. Grant that whoever drinks it with thanksgiving will find it of help in body and in soul. |
