Trappist beer
[citation needed] Monastery brewhouses, from different religious orders, have existed across Europe since the Middle Ages.
Breweries were later introduced in monasteries of other countries as the Trappist order spread from France into the rest of Europe.
The Trappists, like many other religious orders, originally brewed beer to feed the community, in a show of self-sufficiency.
In the last 300 years, there were at least nine Trappist breweries in France, six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, one in Germany, one in Austria, one in Bosnia and possibly other countries.
[5] In January 2023, Achel lost its designation as a Trappist beer due to selling the abbey to a private person.
Their use of the International Trappist Association logo was withdrawn in 1999, but was restored in October 2005 (see Brouwerij de Koningshoeven for details).
[citation needed] An expansion of ITA-recognized breweries took place for the first time in 2012 when the trappist brewery of the abbey of Trappistenbrauerei Engelszell in Engelhartszell, Austria, started brewing beer at the monastery (the former production had stopped in 1929) and in the same year obtained the Authentic Trappist Product logo for their beer.
[citation needed] In June 2018, the monks of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire became the first in the UK to brew a Trappist ale.
[20] Colours can be used to indicate the different types, dating back to the days when bottles were unlabelled and had to be identified by the capsule or bottle-top alone.
Chimay beer labels are based on the colour system (in increasing order of strength red, white and blue).
There is also a number system (6, 8 and 10, as used by Rochefort), which gives an indication of strength, but is not necessarily an exact alcohol by volume (ABV).
Westmalle Dubbel was imitated by other breweries, Trappist and commercial, Belgian and worldwide, leading to the emergence of a style.
Tripel is a naming convention traditionally used by Belgian Trappist breweries to describe the strongest beer in their range.
Quadrupel is the name Koningshoeven gave to a La Trappe ale they brew which is stronger and darker than their tripel.
Some brewing monasteries maintain a visitors' centre where their beers can be tasted and bought (sometimes with other monastic products such as bread and cheese).
Currently, Koningshoeven (which brews La Trappe) in Netherlands offers regular tours around their bottling plant, old brewery and parts of their site, along with a beer tasting.
