Trappist beer : a traditional brew

Belgium is often presented as the country of chocolates and comic strips. But that would be forgetting to mention the virtues of its national beverage : beer. It comes in many colours : brown, blonde, amber etc. and its fermentation processes seem quite improbable: double, triple etc.

But the most prestigious Belgian beer is undoubtedly the Trappist beer, a high fermentation beverage, brewed by Trappist monks in Belgium. Since the early 60's, this beer has benefited from legal protection, defending it from any form of counterfeiting. Historically, Trappist beers are abbey beers. However, all abbey beers are not Trappist beers. In order to benefit from this label of origin, the beverage must be the result of the labour of monks from the 'Trappe' congregation, originally situated in Normandy (France).

Always be consumed wisely......

During the French revolution, the ecclesiastic order, ruled by Saint-Benoît, took refuge in Belgium taking with it the know-how of secular brewery. Only five abbeys are still present today : Chimay (Notre-Dame de Scourmont), Orval (Notre-Dame d'Orval), Rochefort (Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy), Westmalle (Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart), Westvleteren (abbaye de Saint-Sixte) and Achel. Brewed in the walls of these Cistercian abbeys and controlled by the trappist monks, the beer takes on a social dimension : part of the revenue created by these activities must be donated to charity. Hence the famous Belgian saying which states that a trappist beer should always be consumed wisely......