 | |
| Industry | Trappist brewery Trappist cheesefarm |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1931 |
| Founder | Notre-Dame d'Orval Abbey |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 1 |
| Products | Beer |
Production output | 77,000 hL |
| Website | http://www.orval.be |
Orval Brewery (French : Brasserie d'Orval) is a Trappist brewery within the walls of the Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval in the Gaume region of Belgium.
The brewery produces two Trappist beers, Orval and Orval Vert (first stage of the Orval)
Evidence of brewing goes back to the earliest days of the monastery. A document written by the abbot in 1628 directly refers to the consumption of beer and wine by the monks. The last of the brewers to be a monk was Brother Pierre, up until the 1793 fire.
In 1931 the present day brewery became in use, employing lay people and intended to provide a source of funds for the monastery reconstruction. The new Abbye was designed by Henry Vaes, who also designed the distinctive Orval beer glass, together with his daughter. The first beer was shipped from the brewery on 7 May 1932, and was sold in barrels rather than the bottles of today. Orval was the first Trappist beer to be sold nationally around Belgium.
As with other Trappist breweries, the beer is sold in order to financially support the monastery and some other good causes. All of the profits from the sale of the beer are distributed to charities and for community development around the region. [1]
Orval is the main brand. Depending on age, its alcohol by volume varies from 5.9% to 7.2%. Bottles are normally labelled with the average 6.2%, but to meet North American legal requirements they must there be labelled with the maximum 6.9%. [2] It was first made in 1931, and has a complex and unusual flavour and aroma produced by a specific strain of yeast: Brettanomyces bruxellensis . The beer is light in colour, slightly cloudy, and has a large, foamy head. There is a complex aroma of leather, spice, and many other earthy components.
Beer critic Michael Jackson considered Orval to be "a wonderful aperitif", and a "world classic". [3] Its very distinctive taste is largely attributed to two parts of the brewing process. One of these is the use of dry hopping, in which large meshed bags of hops infuse the beer during the three-week maturation period. The other is the use of Brettanomyces yeast during this same maturation, which is a local wild yeast. Hallertau, Styrian Goldings and French Strisselspalt hops are used. [4]
Orval beer is bottled exclusively in a distinctive skittle shaped 33 cl bottle. The bottling plant has a capacity of 24,000 bottles per hour. The beer is then matured at 15 °C for a minimum of four weeks on site before being distributed. Beer that will be sold at the Abbey or local cafe is matured for six months. As the beer is bottle conditioned, its flavour can evolve over the years with aging.
Orval Vert, also known as Petit Orval, is a 4.5% abv, available only on tap in the café near the monastery.
The brewery is normally closed to the public, but opens its doors for two days each year. There are presently 32 secular workers.
Beer is an alcoholic drink produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation. Most beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and act as a preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents, such as gruit, herbs, or fruits, may also be used. In commercial brewing, natural carbonation is often replaced with forced carbonation.
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, at home by a homebrewer, or communally. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BC, and archaeological evidence suggests that emerging civilizations, including ancient Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia, brewed beer. Since the nineteenth century the brewing industry has been part of most western economies.
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Trappist beer is brewed by Trappist monks. Thirteen Trappist monasteries—six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, Italy, England, France, and Spain— produce beer, but the Authentic Trappist Product label is assigned by the International Trappist Association (ITA) to just ten breweries which meet their strict criteria. As of 2021, Achel is no longer recognized as a Trappist brewery because it does not have any monks.
Orval Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the Gaume region of Belgium and is located in Villers-devant-Orval, part of Florenville, Wallonia in the province of Luxembourg. The abbey is well known for its history and spiritual life but also for its local production of the Trappist beer Orval and a specific cheese.
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Orval may refer to:
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Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.
Brettanomyces bruxellensis is a yeast associated with the Senne valley near Brussels, Belgium. Despite its Latin species name, B. bruxellensis is found all over the globe. In the wild, it is often found on the skins of fruit.
Lees are deposits of dead yeast or residual yeast and other particles that precipitate, or are carried by the action of "fining", to the bottom of a vat of wine after fermentation and aging. The same while brewing beer at a brewery is known as trub – the same from secondary fermentation of wine and beer are the lees or equally, as to beer only, dregs. This material is the source for most commercial tartaric acid, which is used in cooking and in organic chemistry.
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"Three Sheets to Belgium" is the first episode of the television show Three Sheets. It originally aired on June 18, 2006.
Bosteels Brewery is a brewery in Buggenhout, Belgium. The brewery was founded in 1791 and was owned and operated by the same family. Bosteels brew three beers: Tripel Karmeliet, DeuS, and Pauwel Kwak. In 2019 a new beer was added for the first time in 17 years; Monte Cristo.
Tynt Meadow is an English Trappist beer with an alcohol content of 7.4%. It is brewed at Mount St Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire.
