Westmalle Brewery (Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle) is a

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

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 b ...

in the

Westmalle Abbey Westmalle Abbey, otherwise the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle ( or the "Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart"), is a monastery of the Cistercians of Strict Observance in Westmalle in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The community was founded in ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. It produces three beers, designated as

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— produce beer, but the ''Authentic Trappist Product'' label is assigned ...

by the

International Trappist Association Trappist beer is brewed by Trappists, Trappist monks. Thirteen Trappist Monastery, monasteries—six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, Italy, Beer in England, England, France, and Spain— produce beer, but the ''Authent ...

. Westmalle Tripel is credited with being the first golden

strong pale ale Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United ...

to use the term

Tripel Tripel is a term used by brewers mainly in the Low Countries, some other European countries, and the U.S. to describe a strong pale ale, loosely in the style of '' Westmalle Tripel''. The origin of the term is unknown, though the main theory i ...

History

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 Dom Martinus Dom, O.C.R., (24 December 1791 – 9 December 1873) was a Belgian Trappist monk. He served as the first abbot of the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle, where he founded the Westmalle Brewery. Early life He was born Frans Daniël Do ...

, the first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

, 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. By 1856, the monks had added a second beer: the first strong brown beer. This brown beer is today considered the first

dubbel The term dubbel (also double) 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, ...

(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 (nearby

Chimay Chimay (, ) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. In 2006, Chimay had a population of 9,774. The area is 197.10 km2 which gives a population density ...

). 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 a

of 9.5%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

giving it the name

- the first modern use of the name. 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.

Products

The brewery produces four beers. Westmalle Dubbel has a purple label and is a 7%

Dubbel The term dubbel (also double) 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, ...

. ' Westmalle Tripel has a yellow label and is a 9.5% abv

tripel Tripel is a term used by brewers mainly in the Low Countries, some other European countries, and the U.S. to describe a strong pale ale, loosely in the style of '' Westmalle Tripel''. The origin of the term is unknown, though the main theory i ...

, 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 classic Saaz pilsener hop. After a long secondary fermentation the Tripel' is bottled with a dose of sugar and yeast. Westmalle Extra has a blue label and is a 5% abv beer with limited availability, i.e. a ''

patersbier 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 ...

''. It is the beer drunk by the monks during the working-day. It has been speculated that Westmalle's initial choice of three types of beers was based on the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

.Geert van Lierde et al., ''In het Spoor van de Trappisten'' Since March 2025 a blend of Tripel (60%) and Extra (40%) was brewed in a limited (for now) edition of approximately 5,000 barrels. The Duo has an alcohol percentage of 7.2%. It is only distributed to a few select cafés. The abbey also produces milk and cheese.

References

Bibliography

* 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

Trappist Abbey of Westmalle
{{coord, 51, 17, 08, N, 4, 39, 28, E, region:BE_type:landmark, display=title 1836 establishments in Belgium Belgian brands Trappist breweries in Belgium Breweries of Flanders Companies based in Antwerp Province Malle