Westmalle Brewery
 | |
| Industry | Trappist brewery |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1836 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Beer,cheese |
Production output | 120,000hl(2004) |
| Owner | Trappist Abbey of Westmalle |
Number of employees | 22 monks, 40 secular workers |
Westmalle Brewery(Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle) is aTrappistbreweryin theWestmalle Abbey,Belgium.It produces three beers, designated asTrappist beerby theInternational Trappist Association.Westmalle Tripel is credited with being the first goldenstrong pale aleto use the termTripel.[1]
History
[edit]The Trappist abbey in Westmalle (officially called Abdij Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart van Jezus) was founded 6 June 1794, but the community was not elevated to the rank of Trappist abbey until 22 April 1836.Martinus Dom,the firstabbot,decided the abbey would brew its own beer, and the first beer was brewed on 1 August 1836 and first imbibed on 10 December 1836. The pioneer brewers were Father Bonaventura Hermans and Albericus Kemps. The first beer was described as light in alcohol and rather sweet.[2]By 1856, the monks had added a second beer: the first strong brown beer. This brown beer is today considered the firstdubbel(Dutch for 'double'). The current Dubbel is derived from a recipe first brewed in 1926. Local sales began in 1856 and the oldest registered sale was on 1 January 1861. The brewery was enlarged and rebuilt in 1865 based on the example set by the Trappists of Forges (nearbyChimay). Father Ignatius van Ham joined the brewer team. Further commercialisation and sales to traders commenced in 1921. In 1933 a complete new brewery was built and in 1934, the brewery brewed astrong pale aleof 9.5%abvgiving it the nameTripel- the first modern use of the name.[citation needed]The brewery was remodeled in 1991. It currently has a bottling capacity of 45,000 bottles per hour, and yearly output of 120,000 hl (in 2004).
The majority of the workers in the brewery are no longer monks, but secular staff brought in from outside. There are 22 monks and 40 outside staff.[3]
Products
[edit]
The brewery produces three beers.Westmalle Dubbelis a 7%abvDubbel.Westmalle Tripelis a 9.5% abvtripel,was first brewed in 1934 and the recipe has not changed since 1956. It is made with pale candy sugar and has a very pale colour produced from a mash of light pilsener malts. Styrian Goldings hops are used along with some German varieties and the classicSaazpilsener hop. After a long secondary fermentationWestmalle Tripelis bottled with a dose of sugar and yeast.Westmalle Extrais a 5% abv beer with limited availability, i.e. apatersbier.It is the beer drunk by the monks during the working-day.[4][5]It has been speculated that Westmalle's choice of three types of beers was based on theHoly Trinity.[6]
The abbey also produces milk and cheese.
References
[edit]- ^"Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter - Down on your knees to bless monks' top ale".www.beerhunter.com.Retrieved2009-07-11.
- ^Jef van den Steen,Trappist - Het Bier en de MonnikenISBN90-5826-214-6
- ^ Rubin, Josh (25 March 2009)."Even secular brewers produce tasty Belgian triple".www.thestar.com.Toronto.Retrieved2009-07-12.
- ^"Image".brouwketel.nl. Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2012.Retrieved26 September2010.
- ^ "Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle".ratebeer.com.Retrieved2009-07-12.
- ^Geert van Lierde et al.,In het Spoor van de TrappistenISBN90-261-0704-8
Bibliography
[edit]- Jan B. Van Damme o.c.r.,Cistercienzers of Trappisten te Westmalle,Westmalle, 1974
- Jan B. Van Damme o.c.r.,Geschiedenis van de Trappistenabdij te Westmalle (1794–1956),Westmalle, 1977
- J. Van Remoortere,Ippa's Abdijengids voor Belgie,Lanno, 1990
External links
[edit]Belgian municipalityMalle | |
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| Deelgemeentes | |
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