Achel Brewery or Brouwerij der Sint-Benedictusabdij de Achelse Kluis was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

, (the smallest of the Belgian Trappist breweries) until January 2021. It continues to operate as a brewery but is no longer Trappist, as the brewing monks whose presence gave rise to that status have retired. It is located in the Abbey of Saint Benedict in the Belgian municipality of

Hamont-Achel Hamont-Achel (; li, Haëmet-Achel) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. It was founded in 1977 by a fusion of the city Hamont and the village Achel. On January 1, 2020, Hamont-Achel had a total population of 14. ...

. It brews six "

Trappist beer 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—currently produce beer, but the ''Authentic Trappist Product'' labe ...

s" (now described as "Trappist style").

History

The history of the brewery goes back to 1648, when Dutch monks built a chapel in Achel. The chapel became an abbey in 1686, but was destroyed during the period of the French Revolution. In 1844, the ruins were rebuilt by monks from

Westmalle Westmalle is a village in the Belgian province of Antwerp which is part of the municipality of Malle. History See history of Malle. Tourism Westmalle is primarily known for the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle of the Order of Cistercians of the St ...

, and various farming activities began. The first beer to be brewed on the site was the ''Patersvaatje'' in 1852, and 19 years later in 1871, the site became a Trappist monastery, with beer brewing a regular activity. In 1914 during World War I, the monks left the abbey due to German occupation. The Germans dismantled the brewery in 1917 to salvage the approximately 700 kg of copper. In 1998 the

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s decided to begin brewing again. Monks from the

Trappist Abbey of Westmalle Westmalle Abbey, otherwise the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle ( nl, Abdij van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart or the "Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart"), is a monastery of the Cistercians of Strict Observance in Westmalle in the Belgian p ...

and

Rochefort Abbey The Trappist Abbey of Rochefort or Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in Rochefort in the province of Namur (Wallonia, Belgium). The abbey is famous for its spiritual life and ...

assisted in the building of the new brewery. In 2001, the brewery released the Achel 8° beers. Achel

Like all other Trappist breweries, the beers are sold in order to support the monastery and charities.

Beers

The beers are labelled by their alcohol percentage and colour, with "Bruin" and "Blond" meaning "brown" and "blonde" in Dutch. * Achel Blond 8°, 8% ABV * Achel Bruin 8°, 8% ABV * Achel Extra, 9.5% ABV Blond (75cl only) * Achel Extra, 9.5% ABV Bruin (75cl only) Before 2017, there were Achel Blond 5°, Achel Bruin 5°.

References

2. https://www.tvl.be/nieuws/limburg-verliest-met-achel-zijn-enige-authentieke-trappistenbier-112013

External links

Official website
{{Trappist beer Trappist breweries in Belgium Breweries of Flanders Organisations based in Limburg (Belgium) Hamont-Achel