 | |
| 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, which is sold commercially, and Orval Vert, which is only available at the abbey.
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.
Lambic is a type of beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium southwest of Brussels and in Brussels itself since the 13th century. Types of lambic beer include gueuze, kriek lambic, and framboise. Lambic differs from most other beers in that it is fermented through exposure to wild yeasts and bacteria native to the Zenne valley, as opposed to exposure to carefully cultivated strains of brewer's yeast. This process gives the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, often with a tart aftertaste.
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 that 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, 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.
Westvleteren is a brewery founded in 1838 at the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in Vleteren, Belgium.
Brettanomyces is a non-spore forming genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae, and is often colloquially referred to as "Brett". The genus name Dekkera is used interchangeably with Brettanomyces, as it describes the teleomorph or spore forming form of the yeast, but is considered deprecated under the one fungus, one name change. The cellular morphology of the yeast can vary from ovoid to long "sausage" shaped cells. The yeast is acidogenic, and when grown on glucose rich media under aerobic conditions, produces large amounts of acetic acid. Brettanomyces is important to both the brewing and wine industries due to the sensory compounds it produces.
Orval may refer to:
Chimay Brewery is a brewery at Scourmont Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Chimay, Hainaut, Belgium, one of the thirteen breweries worldwide that produce Trappist beer. They make four ales: Chimay Rouge, Chimay Bleue, Chimay Blanche, and Chimay 150; and one patersbier for the monks. The monastery also makes four varieties of cheese.
Rochefort Brewery is a Belgian brewery which produces four beers designated as Trappist beers. The brewery is associated with the Rochefort Abbey, a Trappist monastery which originated in the 13th century. The current brewery dates from 1899.
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Beer in Belgium includes pale ales, lambics, Flemish red ales, sour brown ales, strong ales and stouts. In 2018, there were 304 breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as AB InBev, and traditional breweries, such as Trappist monasteries. On average, Belgians drink 68 litres of beer each year, down from around 200 each year in 1900. Most beers are bought or served in bottles, rather than cans, and almost every beer has its own branded, sometimes uniquely shaped, glass. In 2016, UNESCO inscribed Belgian beer culture on their list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
The term dubbel is a Belgian Trappist beer naming convention. The origin of the dubbel was a strong version of a brown beer brewed in Westmalle Abbey in 1856, which is known to have been on sale to the public by June 1861. In 1926, the recipe was changed by brewer Henrik Verlinden, and it was sold as Dubbel Bruin. Following World War Two, abbey beers became popular in Belgium and the name "dubbel" was used by several breweries for commercial purposes.
De Koningshoeven Brewery (Brouwerij de Koningshoeven) is a Dutch Trappist brewery founded in 1884 within the walls of Koningshoeven Abbey in Berkel-Enschot (near Tilburg).
Brewery Ommegang is a brewery located near Cooperstown, New York, United States, that specializes in Belgian-style ales.
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.
St. Bernardus is a brewery in Watou, Belgium.
Alvinne is a small brewery in the hamlet of Moen near the Belgian city of Zwevegem, founded in 2002.
"Three Sheets to Belgium" is the first episode of the television show Three Sheets. It originally aired on June 18, 2006.
Tynt Meadow is an English Trappist beer with an alcohol content of 7.4%. It is brewed at Mount St Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire.
