There is much ballyhoo, a certain amount of cache, and even a little mystery around the Trappist beers. Most beer aficionados can name at least one, such is the Trappists powerful branding in the market. But who are these mysterious Trappists? And what makes them so? Can AB-InBev start brewing Bud Trappist? Today we’ll take an introductory walking tour through the Garden of Trappists.
Monasteries have been brewing beer for hundreds of years as a service to their communities. Back then, beer was safer than water to drink, as clean water was scarce and beer was cleansed by the boiling of the brewing process. The term Trappist derives from La Trappe Abbey in Normandy, France – but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s go back to the beginning.
Our story begins with St. Benedict who founds the monastery of Monte Cassino (in Italy) in 529, and authors the 73 chapter Rule of St. Benedict, which defines and sets out guidelines for monastic life.
Jump ahead 500 years, to 1098, when a group of Benedictine monks, from a village near Dijon, France, found Citeaux Abbey in order to more closely follow the Rule of St. Benedict. These monks become known as Cistercians (derived from “Cistercium,” the latin name for Citeaux), and very strictly follow the The Rule, including, for our purposes here, a return to manual labor and service to the community. By the end of the 12th century, the Cistercian Order has spread throughout medieval Europe, influencing much of the culture and lifestyle of the age.
Fast forward another 500 years, to 1664 in La Trappe, France, where begins a movement to reform the Cistercian Order back to strict adherence to The Rule of St. Benedict. (La Trappe Abbey, notably, had a brewery by 1685). These “Trappists” eventually break from the Cistercians to become a monastic order of their own, sanctioned by the Pope, in 1892. The Trappists, following Chapter 48 of The Rule, are self-sustaining through the production and sale of a wide variety of goods.
Today, of the approximately 170 Trappist monasteries in the world, only seven produce beer. In response to some less-than-savory business practices that saw commercial enterprises with no connection to the Trappist
monasteries slapping the Trappist label on their (subpar) goods, in 1997 eight monasteries formed the International Trappist Association to prevent abuse of the Trappist label. Today, the ITA is composed of 15 monasteries, and the Trappist label guarantees the monastic origin – and specific criteria for creation – of the product. Those criteria are :
- The product is produced within the walls of, or in the vicinity of, the Abbey
- The monastic community provides and governs the production, and is done in accordance with the monastic way of life
- The profits from the sale of products are used for supporting the community, and/or for charitable work
The label can be found on not only beer, but also cheese, bread, liqueur, biscuits, and chocolate.
So, that leaves us with only seven Trappist monasteries producing beer – six in Belgium, and one in the Netherlands. They are, in chronological order of the founding of their current brewery:
- Westmalle (Abdij der Trappisten Westmalle, 1836)
- Westvleteren (Abdij Sint-Sixtus, 1838)
- Chimay (Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont-lez-Chimay, 1863)
- La Trappe / Koningshoeven (Abdij Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Koningshoeven, 1884 – in the Netherlands)
- Rochefort (Abbaye Notre Dame de Saint-Remy, 1899)
- Orval (Abbaye Notre Dame d’Orval, 1931)
- Achel (Sint-Benedictusabdij of Achelse Kluis, 1998)
So there you have it. If you haven’t tried these rare wonders (the largest producer, La Trappe, produces 145,000 hL annually; the smallest, Achel, produces only 4500 hL, and Westvleteren is available only at the Abbey and its cafe), then you owe it to yourself to get out there and experience them. After you do, drop us a line and let us know what you think.
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