People give up all kinds of daily “vices” for Lent—the six-week time period on the Christian calendar, after Mardi Gras and before Easter. It is a time when followers of Catholicism and some Christian denominations choose to give up something from their daily routine in order to work on their spiritual relationship, during the time that represents when Jesus spent 40 days in the desert without any food. Maybe it’s Facebook, fried food, or binge-watching episodes of Netflix’s House of Cards.

One Christian beer blogger from Toronto named Chris Schryer wrote on TorontoBeerBlog.com that while most forms of Christianity do not require a time of full fasting during Lent, some form of fasting is generally encouraged. Schryer describes himself as an Anglican Christian who gave up food for Lent and is replacing it with beer—OK, and clear liquids—but Schryer does not describe himself as an alcoholic.

On TorontoBeerBlog.com, Schryer announced publicly that he would be giving up food for Lent and getting sustenance from beer he brews. Since then, he has been talked about by various media outlets, pushing Schryer to address most issues he’s come across on his blog along the way.

On Ash Wednesday, he wrote that the idea of Lent is that by intentionally inconveniencing yourself through the sacrifice of a daily vice, you can focus your energy on your spirituality.

“After a breakfast of beer (just one), I attended the 10:30 mass at my church, to take communion, and to be marked with the ashes,” Schryer wrote. “Mind you, I’m staring down the barrel of 40 days without it, but still, I was shocked at how quickly my mind went there. So in my case, I’m trying to train myself to reflect the energy I would spend thinking about the awesomeness of food, to reflective prayer on things in my life that are blessings. Trying to reshape my desire into thankfulness.”

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