By John Stegeman

As people prepared to gather for the annual official Bockfest celebrations in downtown Cincinnati, the owners of Paradise Brewing held their own Blessing of the Bock events in Anderson Township and Williamsburg.

Paradise Brewing owners, Jeff and Tammy Graff, have long-enjoyed the events of Bockfest. Launched in 1993, Cincinnati’s Bockfest celebrates the centuries-old German custom of Bock, a vitamin-fortified beer that was brewed in times of fasting, most notably in Lent. Since that time, Bockfest has come to symbolize Cincinnati’s German and brewing heritages.

Jeff said one of his favorite memories of Bockfest was the parade, which would end at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Over-the-Rhine in downtown Cincinnati. Parade goers would enter the church, and there would be a short sermon and blessing of the beer and sausages. In recent years, while an official Bockfest blessing still happens downtown the night before Bockfest, there’s not really a sermon aspect.

Lamenting that loss, the Graffs turned to their neighbor. Paradise Brewing’s original location in Anderson Township is located right next door to Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. One of the priests assigned there was Father Adam Puntel. When he was a seminarian, Father Puntel and several classmates tried brewing their own beer as a hobby, and the Graffs ran a supply store–thus the Graffs and Father Puntel became acquainted with one another. And, when the Graffs approached him, Father Puntel was happy to bless the beer.

“Blessings in everyday life are important because we’re reminded all of this comes from God,” Father Puntel said. “Whether it’s [blessing] a house or a grain for brewing, it all comes from God. Using blessings helps remind us of God’s presence in everyday life.”

This year the Graffs hosted the annual blessing at both their Anderson Township and Williamsburg locations. Father Dan Hess did the blessing in Anderson Township, while Father Dohrman Byers, who was involved with the original Bockfest blessing in 1992, blessed the beer in Williamsburg. Approximately 75 people attended between the two locations. The beer that was blessed was Paradise Brewing’s Billy Baroo Bock.

“There isn’t a better way to try and ring in the passage of springtime than to start recreating what they did down there,” Jeff Graff said, referring to the original downtown blessing. “It’s just a way to keep everyone on the same track. To me, it was a great thing to do. We enjoyed the heck out of going there and participating in the Old St. Mary’s blessing. It was a no brainer [that] we brought that back.”