Posted by Greg Clow in beer, beverages on October 21, 2008 at 7:41 am
Of the thousands of beers brewed by the thousands of breweries around the world, those created at six monasteries in Belgium and one in the Netherlands under the auspices of the International Trappist Association (ITA) are amongst the most revered and well-loved by beer drinkers everywhere. There are a number of reasons for this, with the high quality of the beers perhaps being the most obvious, but it's likely that the strong sense of history and tradition that surrounds them also plays a big role in their reputation.
After all, what says "historic" or "traditional" more than berobed monks silently stirring vats of fermenting beer before heading to morning prayers?
The reality, of course, is much less quaint and romantic, as Trappist breweries nowadays are generally just as modern as their secular counterparts. Still, in order to retain their ranking as true Trappist producers, the monks at all seven breweries must remain involved in the day-to-day operations, and all of them operate as non-commercial entities with any profits used only to finance the monasteries and related philanthropic works.
With the exception of the famously publicity-shy Westvleteren Brewery, which refuses to allow any official wholesaling or exporting of their beers, most Trappist beers are fairly widely available worldwide. Here in Ontario, two beers from the Chimay Brewery, Chimay Red (in the larger Première format) and Chimay White, are available at the LCBO year-round, and products from the remaining five monastery breweries show up on a periodic basis as part of special seasonal releases, such as the current Autumn Ales promotion, which includes two Trappist brews.
From the Westmalle Brewery, located in the abbey of the same name about 15 miles outside of Antwerp, the release includes Westmalle Dubbel (LCBO 676965 - $3.45/330 mL). While it's the less potent of the brewery's two publicly-available beers, it's still a fairly strong 7% brew, although the alcohol is quite well hidden, making it a bit dangerous if you have a few of them around. As is traditional for the Abbey Dubbel style, Westmalle Dubbel is a dark and fairly sweet and malty ale, with notes of dark dried fruit, caramel and brown sugar, a mild spiciness, and a pleasant yeasty undertone with a moderate dryness in the finish. Fans of Chimay Red/Première, which is Chimay's take on the Dubbel style, will likely take to this one pretty quickly.
Larger in both alcohol content and format is Koningshoeven Tripel (LCBO 86934 - $6.95/750 mL), an example of the less malty and golden hued Abbey Tripel style from the only non-Belgian Trappist brewery. Situated near the city of Tilburg in the southern portion of The Netherlands, the Koningshoeven Brewery is the least traditional and most commercialised of the Trappist breweries, with the majority of the brewery operations being managed by a subsidiary of the secular Bavaria Brewery. This partnership actually led to Koningshoeven being expelled from the ITA in 1999, and it took a realignment of brewery duties to have more involvement from the monks to have their membership restored in 2005.
Despite these breaks from the Trappist tradition, Koningshoeven still produces some fine beers; their Tripel is no exception. With a slightly hazy golden-copper colour and a large snow white head, it looks great in the glass, and reveals aromas of fruit (especially tart apple and apricot), spice, light toffee and herbs. Medium bodied with a well-balanced flavour that starts with a fruity sweetness and ends with a floral dryness, it's a very elegant beer, and surprisingly easy to drink despite its 8% alcohol level. Given its strength and bottle size, this is a great beer for social gatherings, so consider grabbing a couple to set aside for the holidays.
And speaking of the holidays, a couple of Trappist breweries will be represented in the slew of holiday gift packs that will be appearing on LCBO shelves in coming weeks, with packages coming from Westmalle (LCBO 83907 - $13.95/2x330 ml + glass) and Chimay (LCBO 560383 - $13.95/3x330 ml + glass). Something for all of us to keep in mind as we plan our gift-buying for the beer lovers on our Christmas lists - even (or especially) if those beer lovers happen to be ourselves.
