Priest’s beer brewing method has everyone in a spin

A GERMAN priest has developed a novel way to brew beer — in a washing machine.

Michael Fey, 45, a Catholic priest from the western city of Duisburg, came up with the idea of converting his 35-year-old toploader to provide beer more cheaply for youth outings he organises.

"All I needed was something that could be used to heat and stir the mix so why not a washing machine?" said Fey, who now uses another machine for his clothes. His machine brews 40 pints of beer in 10 hours.

Having mulled beer brewing for several years, Mr Fey says the idea came to him when he spotted an old toploader model at his friend's house.

"To brew beer you need a big container, the contents of which can be heated up and stirred, and which is easy to thoroughly clean. The toploader had all of this," Mr Fey writes on his website. After discovering the old machine, he set about devising a computer programme so it could be operated from his PC.

Mr Fey is part of a long tradition of churchmen who have pioneered new methods of brewing.

At the beginning of the last millennium, European monks, needing a pleasant tasting, nutritious drink to see them through periods of fasting, started producing large quantities of beer, which they later sold for profit.

Unlike the monks, Mr Fey has not turned his washing machine into a major commercial enterprise, merely distributing it among the youths he takes on regular outings.

Beer remains a very popular drink in Germany, which was once the beer centre of Europe.

In the 14th century, the town of Hamburg alone was home to 1,000 brew masters.