It came as a surprise to discover that monks were no longer involved in the beer-making at Trappist brewer Westmalle during a visit to research for a feature of Trappist beers. With the exception of small-scale Westvleteren that is pretty much the case at all seven Trappist breweries in Belgium and the Netherlands.
It is largely the result of demographics – the average age of monks at many monasteries in western Europe is up in the 50s, 60s or 70s, hardly an age to be pushing around barrels. The modern brewery is also very much automated, requiring fewer people on the factory floor, but a number of trouble-shooting experts – a monastery has no guarantee of having an brewing engineer in its flock.
Monks at Koningshoeven Abbey in the Netherlands do still prepare gift packages of its La Trappe beer. It helps that their average age is just below 60. “We are a bit lucky,” admitted brewing chief Gijs Swinkels.
So what makes a Trappist beer different from any other brew? It’s not the taste, the colour or even the strength – from 5 percent Achels to the 11.3 percent alcohol of the Rochefort 10.
The answer is threefold and applies to other Trappist products such as cheese, biscuits and chocolate: 1. It must be made within the walls of a Trappist monastery; 2. It must be controlled by monks; and 3. The profits must be used for upkeep of the monastery and its community and for its charitable projects.
Sure enough monks do take key decisions on investment, production size and the limited level of marketing.
However, the very ageing that has forced monks to cease day-to-day tasks raises questions about the future of the beers — the pinnacle of brewing to some beer connoisseurs, but just a means to an end for the monks.
Trappist monks accept that some communities may die out, while others emerge. Will some of the Trappist beers die out too?
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Monks take back seat in Trappist beer success story
Posted by: Philip Blenkinsop
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[...] While I’m on the topic, here’s an interesting article about how aging monks at monasteries that sell well-known beers (like Westmalle) are increasingly taking a back seat as they grow long in the tooth. Link here. [...]
- Posted by Beltway Beer » Blog Archive » Weltenburger Kloster Barock Dunkel[...] Monks take back seat in Trappist beer success story (Reuters) [...]
- Posted by Øl-nyt: Ølfestival, Torben Mathews, GourmetBryggeriet, Trappist bryggerier osv. « Beerticker.dk BETAPlease don’t think I am nit picking, just adding a bit of local color to your story.
- Posted by Tom HartI think all trappist beer is double digit, here in Achel the 5% beer is only sold in our cafe” on the grounds and is on tap, not bottled, there is a blond and a dark, same streingth. There is one employee, one volunteer (myself) and the rest is done by the brothers. We are small, 1000 Litre and the brewery is run by Br. Jules who is also the baker. He is seven days a week on the brewery floor, (hands on). See “Bier magazine” with Br. Jules on the cover.
http://www.bier-magazine.nl/index.php?pa ge=database&lowestSub=1&filesub=1&filenr =16&file=Archief
Once a month we bottle the .75L bottles and until last year it was all by hand, now we have a capping machine. It takes five of us to do it and we pass hand over hand one bottle every three seconds and just manage to finish between the noon and vespers. The oldest in this process is Br. Joris at 82 and he fills the crates.
Sadly your “back seat “story is almost 100% correct.