Catholic to the Core
I love presenting you with the new and different.
Today, I have a treat for you!
Sarah Vabulas, aka, “The Catholic Drinkie,” has a brand new book: The Catholic Drinkie’s Guide to Homebrewed Evangelism.
I’m even more excited because Sarah has graciously agreed to do a Q&A with me and now I’m about to share it with you.
Here goes:
Q: You go by an interesting handle. Can you tell us how you became The Catholic Drinkie?
A: I attended the 2010 Catholic New Media Conference in Boston for my work,
but I didn’t have a presence on Catholic social media at that time. I went
out for drinks with Lino Rulli and he asked me why I didn’t have a blog or
podcast. He told me that I should come up with a way to talk about
Catholicism and alcohol, since I had a lot of knowledge on both subjects.
His question remained in my head and, during the opening keynote the next
morning, the name Catholic Drinkie came up while we talked about the
Catholic Foodie blog. In that moment, I decided that I needed to do this
blog, so I bought the web address right there and ran with it!
Q: There’s an interesting back story behind every book. What’s the back story behind The Catholic Drinkie’s Guide to Homebrewed Evangelism?
A: Liguori approached me with the idea to write a book in 2014. I must confess
I hadn’t really considered that anyone would be interested in a Catholic
Drinkie book. One of my priest friends had taught me how to homebrew, since
it’s really a logical next step after exploring the craft beer world. My
openness on social media about my brewing caught Liguori’s attention, and I
developed the idea to use home brewing as a way to evangelize. It works and
I wanted to share it with the world.
Q: In the Introduction, you mention that you “homebrew in a one-bedroom apartment in the heart of a big, bustling metropolis.” Can you describe what that’s like and how you got into home brewing?
A: I just use regular kitchen utensils like a chili pot to brew. It’s not as
overwhelming as it may first seem. I do it all in my kitchen on my stove
and in my sink, then I store the beer away in my pantry to ferment! As a
legal adult, I’ve always been interested in trying new kinds of alcohol.
You get to a point where you want to try making your own. I never thought I
would be able to do this, since I don’t have a driveway and a lot of
storage, but then I learned about the one-gallon brewing movement. I
decided to dive in, and it’s been really fun to make beers for all my
Q:In your first chapter, you write about the importance of wine to the Church. Can you tell us about that without giving away the entire chapter?
A: Wine has a deep history in Judaism, and this lives on in the Catholic
faith. Jesus’ first miracle was to turn water into wine in order to
celebrate a marriage. We continue to use wine as a way to celebrate special
events today. So next time you order a glass, remember that Jesus and His
disciples drank wine just like we do today.
Q: Who are the Beer Brewing Monks?
A: The Trappist monks live and work in Europe and here in the United States at
their monasteries, praying and brewing beer! It’s a life of work and
devotion to God, and they make beer to raise money to sustain their simple
way of living. There are official Trappist breweries and there are
unofficial ones. Be sure to try them all.
Q: In chapter nine, you mention that homebrewing can help build community. How is that?
A: It takes a few hours to brew beer, and it’s always more fun when you have
people around to talk with and teach. Brewing is very much a
hurry-up-and-wait activity, where you’ll have a lot to do in the span of
five minutes and then nothing to do for an hour. Instead of squandering
that hour, it can be an opportunity to talk about the deeper things in
life. So why not talk about Jesus?
Q: What is the more important thing you hope readers will take away from your book?
A: I hope that folks will see how alcohol, used responsibly, can aid in
evangelization. It’s something everyone in the world partakes in, no matter
the religion. We can connect with others and use it as a way to open the
door to friendship and opportunity to evangelize.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about the book
and/or your work at Catholic Drinkie?
A: It’s a lot of fun to blog at Catholic Drinkie, so I’d love any ideas about
what folks want to read. Thank you for your support!
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