Trappist Cornucopia
Life is full of irony. Case in point, some of the best beers in the world are made under the supervision of men who have sworn vows of abstemiousness and moderation. St. Benedict of Nursia (480-547), the father of Christian monasticism, decreed, “live by the work of your hands,” in the 48th chapter of his Rule of Benedict. Over time, the Benedictine monks moved away from the literal observation of the Rule, which describes guidelines for monastic life. The Order of Cistercians, also known as the White Monks due to the color of their habits, was founded in 1098 at Cîteaux Abbey in reaction to this laxness. The Cistercians focused on a return to the original austerity inherent in the Rule of Benedict with manual labor being a central tenet of their practice.
Over time the observance of Cistercians became more liberal and in 1664, Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé, the abbot of La Trappe monastery in Soligny-La-Trappe, Orne, France introduced a more stringent set of rules. Thus were born the Trappists, or more correctly the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance. The Trappists divide their day between work and prayer, abstain from meat and fish and refrain from unnecessary conversation, although they have not taken an absolute vow of silence as is sometimes supposed.
The brewing of beer has a long history in abbeys, regardless of their specific religious observance, dating back to the Middle Ages when pilgrims made up a large percentage of travellers and the abbeys served as hotels for them. Guests needed to be supplied with food and drink, it would have been wine in southern Europe and beer in the north. Beer was safer than water since it had been boiled as part of the brewing process.
It is important to note that there is no set Trappist style of beer. A beer is an authentic Trappist beer if it adheres to three specific regulations. Firstly, it must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist abbey. Next, the beer must be brewed under the general supervision and decision-making auspices of the monks. There is no stipulation that the monks must do the brewing with their own hands. Indeed, given that the monks must pray numerous times each day, as well as study, it would not be workable for them to run a modern brewery concurrently. Finally, the greatest portion of any money made from the sale of Trappist beer must go to good works.
While there is no Trappist style it is perhaps fair to speak of a brotherhood or family of Trappist beers. All Trappist beers are top fermented ales and have a secondary, or even tertiary, fementation in the bottle. Most are dark and malty, although a few are drier, golden offerings. Many have hints of fruit or a certain spiciness from the yeast.
Belgium gained its independence in 1830 and by 1836 monks at Westmalle were already brewing. Westmalle Abbey, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart, was founded in 1794 and became a Trappist abbey on 22 April 1836. The abbot, Martinus Dom, started construction on the brewery the same year and the first fruits of that labor, by accounts a light-bodied, semi-sweet beer, were served to the monks on 10 December 1836. By 1856 the monks had started brewing a darker, stronger beer. The recipe was modified in 1926, forming the foundation of today’s Dubbel. The Tripel, a golden brew with more hop bitterness than the Dubbel was first brewed in 1934 (experiments had taken place as early as 1931) and the recipe has been virtually unchanged since 1956. Westmalle also brews another beer twice a year, solely for consumption by the monks and guests, called Extra, which at 5% abv can rightly be called a Single.
The origin of the terms Single (or Enkel), Dubbel and Tripel comes from the practice of partigyle brewing, or running water through the mash multiple times for distinct batches of beer. The first running, the premium of the three, would make use of the grain and its sugars more fully and those barrels were marked with three x’s (tripel). The second running would have two (dubbel) and the third, generally used as the monk’s table beer would have one (enkel). Today most breweries using sparging, spraying hot water over the top of the mash in the lauter tun in order to rinse the sugar from the malt instead, but the terminology remains. The Single is usually a lighter bodied, lower alcohol brew, with the Dubbel being darker, stronger, perhaps sweeter and the Tripel being stronger still, drier and often lighter in color. More recently the Koningshoeven Trappist Brewery, at the Onze Lieve Vrouw van Koningshoeven Abbey, near Tilburg in the Netherlands (the only Trappist brewery outside of Belgium) began to use the term Quadruppel to describe their strongest ale, weighing in at 10% abv.
Wesvleteren, the Abbey of St. Sixtus, in West Flanders near Ypres was founded in 1831 and had begun brewing beer by 1838. Today Westvleteren has the smallest output of all the Trappist breweries, brewing only, “what they need to live”. Having been fortunate enough not to have been occupied by the German army in either World War, Westvleteren was the only Trappist brewery to retain their copper brewing vessels. In 1946, the monks decided to sell their beer only at the gate of the abbey and at a few local cafés with connections to the Monastery. The St. Bernardus brewery, in Watou, was authorized to brew and sell beer under the appellation St. Sixtus. This agreement ended in 1992 at which point St. Bernardus began marketing beer, unaffiliated with the abbey, under their own name. Westvleteren has been sold without labels on their bottles since 1945, with all information about the beer being printed on the bottlecaps. The Blonde (green cap) was first brewed in 1999, replacing a 6.2% abv dark beer and a 4% table beer. Westvleteren also brews the 8 (blue cap, formally called Extra) and 12 (yellow cap, formerly Abt). The 12 is regularly cited at or near the top in lists of the world’s best beer. Today the beer is only available at the abbey, with purchasers limited to a single case, or at the nearby De Vrede café.
The numbers used by Westvleteren (and Rochefort) in naming their beers refer to the measurement of gravity in Belgian degrees. In order to calculate this, subtract 1 from the beer’s specific gravity and multiply by 100. For example, take a beer with a specific gravity of 1.060, subtract 1 and then multiply by 100 to get 6 belgian degrees. The usage of Belgian degrees ceased in the 1990’s, replaced by degrees Plato, but the usage in names has remained. In practice, the specific gravities of the beers, especially the strongest, may vary a little so that, for example the Westvelteren 12 may be between 10% abv and 10.5% abv. In Belgium the listed abv can vary by 1%, while in the United States it can only cary by .3%, leading some breweries to use a median abv to be on the safe side.
Chimay, the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont, founded in 1850 is the most commercially oriented abbey in terms of their beer sales. They brew three commercially available beers: Red (Premiere), White (Cinq Cents) and Blue (Grande Réserve), with smaller (11.2 fl. oz.) bottles usually referred to by color and larger ones (25.4 fl. oz.) referred to by name. Some have argued, as they have over Westmalle, that since all the beers are bottle conditioned there is a difference in flavor sufficient to talk of six types, or seven if the magnum of Grande Réserve is counted, rather than three. The general character of Chimay beers can be traced back to the post World War II consultations of Belgian brewing scientist Jean de Clerck. The Cinq Cents was first brewed to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the town of Chimay and is drier and hopier than the other two, falling roughly into the Tripel category. The Grande Réserve began as a Christmas special in 1948, becoming a year round brew in 1954. Chimay also makes a table beer for the monks, called Dorée, which is not available commercially.
Rochefort, the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy, has a history that stretches back to 1230 when it was a convent, becoming a monastery in 1464 and brewing as early as 1594. The modern history of the brewery commenced in 1894, with Father Dominique even attending the Catholic University at Leuven to study the science of beermaking. All three of their beers are dark, brown ales, referred to only by numbers referencing the old Belgian degrees system, the 6 (red cap), the 8 (green cap) and the 10 (blue cap. The 6 is perhaps sweeter and more fruity than the other two, with the 8 being drier and the 10 being the richest, most espresso-like and most complex. The “family resemblance” between all the Rochefort beers is stronger than at any other Trappist brewery.
Orval, or more fully Notre-Dame d’Orval, was founded in 1070 as a Benedictine monastery whose name comes from “Valley of Gold”. French legend relates how Princess Mathilda of Tuscany lost her gold ring in the lake in the valley and made a vow to God that should her ring be returned to her, she would repay that blessing by building a monastery in the valley. Soon enough a trout rose up out of the lake with her ring in his mouth and Princess Mathilda was true to her word. The trout, holding the golden ring in its mouth, still graces the Orval label. Orval is unique amongst the Trappists by producing only one commercially available beer, simple called Orval (they also brew a patersbier, only for the monks, called Petite Orval). Orval was first brewed in 1931 and has a singular taste, refered to amongst its many devotees as having le goût d’Orval (the taste, or essence even, of Orval). This flavor profile can be attributed, in part, to use of well water high in calcium carbonates (hightening firmness and bitterness), a secondary fermentation on dry-hops and funk from the (atypical for Trappist beers) use of Brettanomyces yeast. Orval is instantly recognizable in its skittle shaped bottle.
Achel, or Saint Benedictus Abdij de Acheles Kluis, is the most recent addition to the Trappist brewing ranks. The decision to return to brewing, which had ceased during World War I, was made in 1998 and represented the first addition to Trappist brewing since 1931. The rebuilding of the brewery was accomplished with help from both Westmalle (who supplied yeast) and Rochefort. Achel 5 (a brown beer) and 6 (a blond beer) are available only at the café at the Abbey. Stronger versions are bottled for commercial sale: 8 Bruin and 8 Blonde, as well as the even more forceful Extra.
Due the enviable reputation for quality enjoyed by the Trappist beers unscrupulous brewers began to label their own beers in ways which suggested that they were authentic Trappist beers. The monks banded together and brought court challenges to these pretenders to the throne. On 28 February 1962 the Belgian Trade and Commerce Tribunal decreed that only beers brewed under the strict control of monks of the Trappist order could be called Trappist. In 1997, the six Belgian Trappist abbeys along with Koningshoeven (Netherlands) and Mariawald (Germany) founded the International Trappist Association to monitor and control usage of the Authentic Trappist Product appellation and logo.
Let us end where we began, with the Rule of Benedict:
Let all things be done with moderation, however, for the sake of the faint-hearted.
Mariawald Echter-Kräuter Likör, Original Trappist-Abtei-Tropfen (32%
abv)
(Real Herb Liqueur, from the Trappistenkloster Mariawald in Eifel, Germany)
Heiligenkreuz Rheiriesling (12% abv, Gumpoldskirchen,
Austria)
(Kabinett, 2001 Harvest, Vineyard Freigut Thallern,
Monastery Heiligenkreuz)
Monasterio de la Oliva Reserva (13.5% abv, Carcastillo Navarra, Spain)
Orval (6.9% abv)
Westvleteren Blond (5.8% abv)
Achel Blonde (8% abv)
Westveleteren 8 (8% abv)
Westmalle Dubbel (7% abv)
Westmalle Tripel (9.5% abv)
Chimay Cinq Cents (8% abv)
Wesvleteren 12 (10.2% abv)
Rochefort 10 (11.3% abv)
Achel Extra (9.5% abv)