Beer has been important in human history. So much so that the earliest known civilization in the world, the ancient Sumerians, called it "the divine drink." They even had a hymn for it (incidentally, the hymn was also a recipe to brew beer - those clever Sumerians!)
Scribal Terror blog has a neat post about the Religious History of Beer, including an official beer-blessing ritual of the Roman Catholic:
Bless, O Lord, this creature beer, that Thou hast been pleased to bring forth from the sweetness of the grain: that it might be a salutary remedy for the human race: and grant by the invocation of Thy holy name, that, whosoever drinks of it may obtain health of body and a sure safeguard for the soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
http://scribalterror.blogs.com/scribal_terror/2008/02/the-religious-h.html (Photo: White Around the Collar - via Per Christum)