St. Columbanus

circa AD 612

St. Columbanus was an Irish monk and missionary in the 6th-7th century. He believed that silence, fasting, and prayer were the paths of righteousness, and penance based on changes to the length of the period of fasting and silence. He founded a church at Vosges, Gaul, and at Luxeuil. He is believed to have spoken many languages and have been able to write in Latin and Greek. He established a monastery at Bobbo, Appennines. He is associated with animals and their care. He wrote poetry and songs.  St. Columbanus was a missionary priest whose claim as a Beer Saint derived from a story of him happening upon a group of "pagans" about to sacrifice a cask of ale to the god Wodan. Using only his breath, St. Columbanus shattered the ale cask from across a clearing. He then explained that the men were wasting good ale and that God loved ale, but only when drunk in His name.

Saint Columbanus is also known for the following statement/ blessing: "It is my design to die in the brew-house; let ale be placed to my mouth when I am expiring, so that when the choir of angels come they may say: 'Be God propitious to this drinker.'"