All in all, drinking a Westvleteren has become quite the event in itself. Adhering to the rules of St. Benedictus, Trappist monks are always responsible for their own livelihoods and live a life not only dedicated to prayer, but to work as well. Another incentive might be the fact that the monks themselves are allowed to drink these beers during lunch or dinner, and in the case of Westmalle this has been true since The Westmalle Tripel — the most famous of their three beers — has gone from being sold at the gates of the monastery to being another frequent contender for the title of best beer in the world.
Like at most of the monastic breweries, there is no chance of witnessing the process, since the quiet life of the monks has to be respected. The only place where you can actually see brothers running around the shining, copper brewing kettles, Achel is one of the more visitor-friendly monasteries. While staying in Watou, you'll be popping in and out of France on daily side trips, like one to the village of Cassel, where they amazingly only have regular houses.
You'll even visit the "longest bar in Europe" in Leuven, which's made of more than 34 actual bars and sells something called the "meter of beer", which'll probably have you off your feet. The moment the BDFT ends, while the lesser beer travelers head back to the states, you'll be heading to Brussels for the start of leg two of your journey. This, by the way, is a modern-day monk. You'll notice he's nothing like those Friar Tuck-looking dudes you see on Belgian beer bottles.
From , his abbey brewed low-alcohol beverages that were far safer and more sanitary than drinking water at the time. In the intervening centuries, a lot has changed. Many brew-abbeys were demolished and rebuilt numerous times, most notably during the s, when the anti-religious aftermath of the French revolution led to the destruction of virtually all religious communities.
It was only in the s that a small monastic brewing movement re-emerged, with beer making sometimes used as both a symbolic example of modest labour and a way to help fund the reconstruction of the lost religious buildings. This funding model was reused several times, including after both world wars. Some of these beer makers are small and local, while others are now owned by giant multi-national brewing corporations the latter being the case with Leffe, which is owned by AB InBev, and Affligem, owned by Heineken.
Until the last decade, almost all were Belgian. To limit disappointment, most abbeys have their own tasting rooms on-site or in the vicinity, with other appealing attractions — hop-based or otherwise — to add zest to a visit nearby. There are six such Belgian beer-monasteries thirsty tourists can investigate:.
Beer has been brewed there since Celebrated Chimay beers actually come from the lonely Abbey of Scourmont, established in The site was donated to monks by the landowners of a feudal castle located 7km 4 mi north, in Chimay village. Also brewed at Scourment is Mont des Cats, a gorgeous, mid-strength blond beer.
Achel also has a cafe within the walls of Achelse Kluis. One of my favorite aspects of visiting the cafes at the monasteries is that you can try the normal beers of the brewery, and occasionally, you can also experience special beers not produced for commercial distribution.
The beer is fresher and straight from the brewery. You get to build that special connection that you can only experience by visiting the grounds where the beer is born. Those new to the Trappist name might wonder what it actually means and why should you care?
You can find these in many of the beer stores or download one for your computer online from Belgian Beer Routes Map. Have you visited any of the other Trappist breweries outside of Belgium?
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