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two friends, forty takes, one adventure across continents
October 14th by may
Dear Adri,
It’s been quite a while!
So I hit up Belgium recently to see one of my best friends, Lieselot. Being such a keen fan of beer (and I know you are too), it was quite the perfect weekend in so many ways. Think of beer and most beer connoisseurs automatically make the association with Belgium, makers of some of the best beers in the world (although the Germans may protest..). Here, like in Germany, beer culture goes a long way back in local history and folklore. Beyond the art of drinking it (which anyone can do), I guess you can say modern beer was perfected here, centuries ago. But where exactly?
It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but modern Belgian beer owes a large part of its existence to the ancient recipes of Trappist monks. For centuries, up until today, these mysterious hermit-like religious figures have been making small quantities of their beers, which are today regarded as some of the best brews ever made (according to contemporary beer awards, and to legions of fans around the world). There are seven Trappist breweries left worldwide; six of them are in Belgium.
I thought I was well-placed to try to find out the answers behind my burning questions: why do they do this, and how? Do they drink their own beer? Is there a monastic equivalent to happy hour?
While chilling out with Lieselot at her bar in downtown Brussels, we hit upon the idea of driving across the country to try to see if we could get some insights into monk-made beer, or at least worship at the temple of beer. We headed for Brouwerij Westvleteren (Westvleteren Brewery), not far from the hops-producing town of Poperinge, in the vain hope that we might find Trappist monks willing to speak to us.
Brouwerij Westvleteren was founded in 1838 at the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus, and to this day produces three world-famous beers known collectively by their namesake. All three have acquired a formidable international reputation for their sheer taste and quality.
About an hour’s drive from Brussels, Westvleteren felt a world away from the big city lights of the capital. The endless greenery and low population density is perhaps fitting for a Trappist monastery, which was surrounded by miles of green, and so nondescript you couldn’t tell history was literally brewing behind its doors.
I suppose it was stupid of us to only remember the “Trappist” bit of “Trappist monk” in this equation. They did take the Trappist vow of silence for a reason! If modernity and the 21st century changed so little about their beers, the ways of their brewers changed even less. When we got there we were politely told, no, you cannot speak to monks, nor can you see the brewing, we are not a commercial brewery but a house of worship, but you’d be welcome to attend a church service right now if you like.
Disappointed, but not entirely surprised, we settled for a taste of fresh Westvleteren at a nearby cafe. We were told by beer connoisseurs that demand for Westvletern beer is extremely high due to their production methods: rather than operating like a commercial brewhouse, the monks stick to traditional methods, take their time with each batch, and are very strict about producing only specific amounts each time, nothing less, nothing more. The cafe even imposes strict quotas on the number of glasses of Westvleteren they could sell in a day, just to be sure they wouldn’t run out. The reason for this limited production, in their own words? “We are no brewers. We are monks. We brew beer to be able to afford being monks.”
At least it was a great road trip, a good story, and plenty of fabulous beer was sacrificed for the greater good, in the process of making this video.
Tip: Westvleteren is in such short supply, if you really want to score some fresh crates onsite, you need to first make a booking on the phone, and even then every car is restricted to 2 small cases — one, in the case of Westvleteren 12, their most famous brew (also voted Best Beer in the World)!
Thanks
Lieselot Vijncke: rockstar bartender, blonde goddess, sometimes beer historian
Westvleteren beer photo: Adams K (Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic)
Music
The Xx — VCR
George Brassens — Marinette
Posted in alcohol, beer, belgium, christianity, europe, monks, religion.