Doris Engelhard (née Walburga Engelhard; born 1949) is a German religious sister of the Congregation of the Poor Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family and a brewmaster. Engelhard brews her beer in the Kloster Mallersdorf, and feels that "brewing is her way of serving God."[1] Engelhard is the last nun working in Europe as a brewmaster.[2][3]

Sister
Doris Engelhard
Engelhard in 2018
Personal
Born
Walburga Engel

1949
Herrieden, Germany
ReligionCatholicism

Early life

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Engelhard was born Walburga Engel in 1949 in Herrieden, Bavaria.[4]

Biography

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Engelhard is a sister of the Poor Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Family.[5] In 1961, Engelhard started at Kloster Mallersdorf as a student.[2] The sisters of this congregation also helped take care of her sick mother.[2] Engelhard wanted to be a religious sister after her experience, but her father felt she could pursue more lucrative career choices.[2] So she thought about studying agriculture and then at the suggestion of the superior, studied brewing.[2] She began her postulancy in 1966 and made her vows in 1969.[2] In 1975, she became the brewmaster in Kloster Mallersdorf, taking over from another sister who had been brewing there since the 1930s.[5] In 1977, she was brewing 3,300 pints a year.[6] Today, Mallersdorf brews about 80,000 gallons of beer a year.[7] The beer brewed at Mallersdorf is not exported and is only consumed locally.[8] The beer is untreated and needs to be drunk while it is still fresh.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Hamilton, Tracy Brown (30 March 2015). "Sister Doris, Beer-Brewing Nun". Draft. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Hamilton, Tracy Brown (2 October 2014). "The Meditations of Europe's Last Brewmaster Nun". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  3. ^ Rodriguez, Cecilia (17 October 2014). "Taste, Courtesy of Sister Doris". Forbes. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  4. ^ Riese, Julia (2023-05-04). "Schwester Doris (74) ist Deutschlands einzige Braumeisterin im Kloster". Kirche+Leben [de]. Retrieved 2024-07-04.
  5. ^ a b Conrad, Tom (29 October 2014). "Sister Doris: Europe's Last Beer-Making Nun". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. ^ "Sister Suds". The Anchor. 8 September 1977. p. 5. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  7. ^ Esparza, Daniel (12 August 2016). "Sister Doris Engelhard: The Master Brewer of Mallersdorf Abbey". Aleteia. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  8. ^ Rodriguez, Cecilia (17 October 2014). "Best Craft Beers You'll Probably Never Taste, Courtesy of Sister Doris". Forbes. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  9. ^ Conrad, Tom (16 May 2014). "Craft Beer Chronicles: Germany's Beer-Brewing Nun, Sister Doris". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
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