Minnesota Seminarians Brew Their Own

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — When students at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona gather for their monthly pizza and beer get-together, the brew is homemade.

Brother Albert Marie Curtis says he was "thrown into" the craft of home brewing soon after he arrived at the seminary two years ago. The 21-year-old from Ontario, Canada says it's part of his daily work at the seminary.

The Winona Daily News brothers have been brewing beer at the seminary for the past seven or eight years. A parishioner donates the grain, so the only cost is for yeast, hops and special ingredients. Curtis says a gallon of beer costs about a dollar.

Father Yves Le Roux encourages the brothers and seminarians to have a joyous spirit while drinking the beer as part of the community-centered tradition of the seminary.

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