Father Edgar Clara, parish priest of the Church of Santa Cruz do Castelo, and Afonso Cruz, author of the book Jesus Christ Drank Beer, come together on their birthdays,on Tuesday, July 9, at 5:00 p.m., at the Crafty Corner bar in Lisbon, to present the craft beer Santa Cruz.
Conceived by Father Edgar Clara, carefully and artisanally brewed by Xó, and flavored with arbutus and cardamom by Medronho&Canela, Santa Cruz is this summer’s beer — a toast to friendship, solidarity, and environmental sustainability.
There’s no mistaking it: it’s the Church of Santa Cruz do Castelo, where Lisbon was born, that gives its name to the new craft beer. It’s here that parish priest Edgar Clara is dedicated to restoring the altars and some of the church’s treasures that have, until now, been kept under lock and key due to a lack of resources for their recovery.
The launch of the Santa Cruz craft beer is part of a larger cultural and recreational program that the parish plans to develop over the coming year to raise donations. Around 200,000 euros are needed to restore the altars inside the church, as well as to restore dignity to 11 paintings by Domingos António de Sequeira, depicting the Martyrs of the London Charterhouse, which are believed to have come from the Charterhouse of Évora.