Introduction

As stated above, some of the contents of this Web page are based on the visit to Orval, carried out by John White and his White Beer Travels Beer Hunters, in September, 1997. John paid a further visit, in October, 2003, in the company of Chuck, and: Fred Waltman (websites on beer in Franconia (www.franconiabeerguide.com) and Los Angeles (www.labeer.com)); home brew expert, Tom Rierson; and John Allison (the Webmaster of the Boulder, Colorado-based "Hop Barley and the Alers" Homebrew Club, hopbarley.org). The above photo of the Orval Monastery was copy/pasted from Orval's website.

Most of the bars featured in Tim Webb's essential Good Beer Guide Belgium (www.booksaboutbeer.com, White Beer Travels Web page) will have Orval. A website featuring Speciality Beer bars in Belgium is covered below.

In his Pocket Beer Book, the world's number one beer writer, Michael Jackson (1942-) (www.beerhunter.com), uses a star rating system for beers, ranging from one star for "typical of its country and style", through to four stars, denoting a "world classic". In the book the small country of Belgium has more world classics than much of the rest of the beer-producing world put together. Of course, Orval is one of Michael's four star world classics.

In bottled form, most of the Belgian world classics can be considered to be Real Ale, since yeast present in the bottle allows a further fermentation to take place, in the container from which the beer is dispensed, a fundamental requirement based on the CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) (www.camra.org.uk) definition of Real Ale.

Some British Real Ale fans, and others around the world, develop an interest in Specialty Beers in general, and soon discover that there are a number of Monasteries - Trappist ones - which brew beer. In fact, of over 140 Trappist Monasteries throughout the world, only seven of them brew, six in Belgium, including the one specially featured in these notes, Orval, and one in The Netherlands. That they brew is no gimmick or historical curiosity; each produces some of the finest beers in the world, most rated world classics. All their beers are bottle-conditioned, and top fermentation, like British "Ales", is part of the brewing process; they are truly Real Ales in bottle. Note that the figure of seven ignores a brewery falsely rumoured to be operational in the Monastère Notre-Dame de Mokoto, a Trappist Monastery, in Gisenhyi, in Rwanda.

A short history of Trappist Monasteries and their beers is first given, followed by more detailed information on Orval.

A Short History of Trappist Monasteries and Their Beers

Modern Christian monasticism was founded, in circa 529 AD, by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-c. 547), in Montecassino. This is in central Italy, between Rome and Naples. St. Benedict is buried in the present, spectacularly situated Monastery there, which is a major tourist attraction (www.officine.it/montecassino). In 1964, during the dedication of the rebuilt Montecassino Monastery, Pope Paul VI declared St. Benedict to be the "principal, heavenly patron of the whole of Europe", i.e. the principal Patron Saint of Europe.

Benedictine monks were soon sent all over Europe to set up Monasteries, primarily on a missionary basis. For example, conversion to Christianity in England was first carried out by a team led by St. Augustine, who arrived from Rome in 596. He became the very first Archbishop of Canterbury in 601, a position he held until his death in 604. The earliest known example of a monastery with a brewery (well, actually it had three) is in St. Gall (St. Gallen), in Switzerland, which was founded by an Irish Benedictine Monk, St. Gall, in 612. This monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, see whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31 for the complete list. In France, in 1098, a group of the Benedictines, led by Robert of Molesme, felt that a stricter monastic regime would be more appropriate: they formed the Cistercians, in Cîteaux (www.citeaux-abbaye.com), which is sixteen miles (twenty-six kilometres) South of Dijon, in Burgundy. (Cistercianum is Latin for "from Cîteaux".) Although not the founder of the movement, the most famous and revered name in the Cistercian world is St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Champagne. St. Bernard (Bernardus in Latin) (circa 1090-1153) was the founder of over 70 Cistercian Monasteries, including Orval, see later.

In 1122, a Benedictine Monastery was built in Soligny la Trappe, Moulins la Marche, which is a few miles North of Mortagne-au-Perche, in the Perche area of southern Normandy (in the Département of Orne). In 1140, La Trappe became a Cistercian Monastery. In 1664, La Trappe's Abbot, Armand Jean Le Bouthillier de Rançé (1626-1700), a Godson of the famous Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), believed that the Cistercian order had become too liberal; he therefore changed the regime within the abbey. Penitential exercise was introduced, absolute silence had to be observed, a vegetarian diet was imposed, and the reading of literature was suppressed, to concentrate the mind on penance and death. This more severe order came to be known as the Cistercians of the Strict Observance, or more commonly the Trappist Order, getting its name from the location of the founding abbey. In previous notes on Trappist Monasteries, I stated, based on information now known to be incorrect, that the Monastery was located in a valley, only accessible by a narrow defile, which, in consequence, gave the Monastery its name of La Trappe (The Trap). On a journey to La Trappe, I had this vision of having to enter a mini-Grand Canyon to get to the place. Imagine my surprise to come across the Monastery in open countryside! Therefore, I searched further for the origin of the word Trappe. I subsequently found out from a reliable source that the word originates from the name used by the people of the Perche for the steps used to get down to the numerous ponds in the area, in order to fish; the word was in use with this meaning before the building of the Monastery. Once the Monastery became established and converted to the stricter branch of the Cistercian order, the word trappe began to be used by mainstream Cistercians in a critical way for the deprivations of the Trappists, which were described as the sombre trappe, the dark trap. It also came to be used in allusion to, for example, St. Benedict in Italy going for long periods into a very small place of seclusion, a trap, to be at one, as a hermit, with God or whatever.

Monasticism in France was actively discouraged, during and following the revolution and the Napoleonic wars. This led to monks fleeing or being expelled from France. Some later returned, but there were further expulsions, some even during the 20th Century. As a result, Trappist abbeys were set up outside of France, including a number in Belgium and The Netherlands.

Originally, Monasteries made drinks for themselves, and also for their guests, at a time when many of those who travelled were pilgrims, and most "hotels" were abbeys. In southern Europe, the drink would be wine or liqueur, produced from local grapes; in the North, it would be beer, brewed from local grain. Monks still drink Beer, to varying degrees, in most of the Monasteries which still brew, and in those having beer brewed under licence (see later), and in certain other Monasteries, such as non-brewing Trappist Monastery. Monks can have a beer daily in some monasteries, only on National Holidays in others, etc. Originally beer was introduced into Monasteries, at a time when water was often not safe to drink, the boiling which takes place during the brewing process killing off all bugs. Like bread, beer is made from grain, albeit malted; during Lent, the strongest beer can also be served as liquid bread, within the Monasteries. In Orval, the Monks have a low-strength beer each day. Note that this rare beer is available, albeit relatively exclusively, to the general public, see below. Note also that on two days each year, the monks drink "normal" Orval in the Monastery. In 2003, there were around twenty monks in the Monastery.

Many of the restrictions of life in a Trappist Monastery have now been lifted, including a particularly important one for beer lovers, since when Armand de Rançé founded the Trappist Order, in the 17th Century, see above, the only thing he allowed the monks to drink was water; beer was only re-introduced into the present-day Trappist monasteries by Westmalle, in 1836. Today, study is encouraged within Trappist monasteries, and in recent years women have been allowed inside some of the Monasteries under certain conditions. The Trappist monks' famous vows of silence (anyone remember the porridge joke?) were relaxed around 1965 by The Vatican. The dietary restrictions have also been lifted, although Trappist monks still refer to Cistercians as "meat-eaters"! But you never know, maybe one day a more severe Order will consequently be formed, hopefully brewing Such-and-such-an-Order's Beer!

Between 530 and 560, St. Benedict of Nursia is said to have formulated his famous Regula Monachorum, Regula Benedicti, or Rule, although the one now generally quoted from is a revised version produced by a monk from Aniane, in the South of France, also, somewhat confusingly, a St. Benedict (Benoît) (750-821). He codified the Rule into a small missive divided up into seventy-three chapters, annotated with the dates on which each, or a part of each, should be read out in the Chapter House of a Monastery or Cathedral. The famous chapter six, for example, is read out on the 24th of January, the 25th of May, and the 24th of September. In approximately 200 words, it gives the reasoning for the vows of silence. Click here to access the text, in English, of all seventy-three chapters of The Rule, this link being from The Order of Saint Benedict's official website, www.osb.org, from where one can access the text of The Rule in other languages.

Fortunately, from a beer lover's point of view, the most important part of the Rule of St. Benedict is still in force, since, in chapter forty-eight it states: "You are only really a monk when you live from the work of your hands". Hence, Trappist Monasteries around the world produce, for example, soap, cheese, children's clothes, beer, farm produce, wine, cosmetics, and bread, for sale outside the Monasteries. The Trappist abbey Nôtre-Dame-d'Aiguebelle (www.abbaye-aiguebelle.com), near the famous nougat town of Montélimar, in Provence, produces renowned nougat and liqueurs. The founding Monastery, La Trappe, does not brew beer, but it does produce a Yogurt! I thus have an empty Trappist Yogurt Pot on my desk to keep pencils, etc in, see below! The shop there is worth a visit if you are in the area. It has a very large range of monastic products from round the world, including Trappist coffee beans from Africa, monastic Liqueurs, including special versions of Green Chartreuse (www.chartreuse.fr), from the Carthusian St. Pierre de Chartreuse Monastery, near Grenoble, in France, and Trappist beer from Belgium, along with religious books, including some on the history of the Trappist order. The abbey at Cîteaux, birthplace of the Cistercian order, is also now a Trappist Monastery. It produces an outstanding cheese, readily available in Burgundy and other parts of France.

In addition to monasteries being set up in other countries, because of the political situation prevailing in the country being fled from, many of the Trappist Monasteries throughout the world were formed by colonisation from established Trappist Monasteries. A well known example, in Wales, is Caldey Island (www.caldey-island.co.uk), off the Pembrokeshire (Dyfed) coast, much visited by holiday makers from Tenby. It was formed in 1929 by monks from the Abbaye de Scourmont, in Belgium, the latter being better known as Chimay, which is pronounced She May! Mount St. Bernard (www.mountsaintbernard.org), founded in 1835, is the only Trappist Monastery in England. It is in Charnwood Forest, near Coalville, Leicestershire.

Of the six Trappist Monasteries producing beer in Belgium, three are in the Flemish part of the country - Westmalle (www.trappistwestmalle.be and (for its bar) www.trappisten.be), Westvleteren (www.sintsixtus.be and (for its bar) www.indevrede.be, White Beer Travels Web page) and Achel (www.achelsekluis.org) - and three in the Wallonian part - Chimay (www.chimay.com), Orval and Rochefort (www.trappistes-rochefort.com, White Beer Travels Web page). The only other Trappist Monastery in the world brewing beer is in The Netherlands: the Schaapskooi/Koningshoeven (www.koningshoeven.nl (Abdij Koningshoeven), www.latrappe.nl (brewery) and White Beer Travels Web page), in Berkel-Enschot, near Tilburg. It has a range of beers taking their name from the founding Trappist Monastery: La Trappe Enkel, Dubbel, Tripel and Quadrupel. Note that the La Trappe range of beers had the Authentic Trappist Product logo on the bottles, see below, removed in 1999, following the involvement of a large Dutch brewery called Bavaria in the brewery within the monastery. Pope John Paul II (Papa Giovanni Paulo II) (Karol Wojtyla) (1920-2005) was rumoured to have been involved in the decision to stop Koningshoeven using the logo, but this was not the case, although the General Abbot and his council of the Trappist Order, which is based in Rome, were involved. Note, however, that the logo was reinstated, Broeder Bernardus Peeters, the Monastery's Prior, announced, in October, 2005. An English version of the press release can be seen by clicking here.

Elsewhere, particularly in Germany, there are non-Trappist Monasteries and Convents producing beer. In Belgium, the Cistercian Val-Dieu Monastery (www.val-dieu.com), in Wallonia, recommenced brewing in October, 1997. Unfortunately, a few years later, Val-Dieu ceased being an operational monastery - there were not enough monks to make it viable - although it is still a religious centre, and the brewery continues to operate. All but Westvleteren and Achel of the seven brewing Trappist Monasteries sell their beers around the world, directly themselves and/or using wholesalers, the latter method being the sole method used by Rochefort. Achel recommenced brewing in December, 1998. In addition to bottled Achel beers, available in the usual beer shops and Speciality Beer bars, its beers are available on draught in the café within the cloisters, which can be freely visited, along with a supermarket, which is also within the cloisters. The supermarket sells a good range of beers from both Trappist and secular brewers.

Only beers from the seven Trappist Monasteries can, following a 28th of February, 1962 ruling by a trade court in Ghent, use the appellation Trappistenbier (or Bière des Pères Trappistes). The case was brought by the Orval Monastery, who were awarded exemplary damages of one franc, against the Anglo-Belge brewery, a subsidiary of the Veltem brewery in Leuven, who marketed a beer with the name Trappist de Veltem from 1957 until 1962. Far more important than the damages, sales of all fake Trappist Beers were banned after the judgement; both offending breweries are now defunct.

Some abbeys commission brews from secular brewers; these are classed as Abbey Beers, not Trappist Beers. A well-known example is Leffe (www.abbaye-de-leffe.be), whose beers are manufactured at InBev's factory in Leuven. Note that Leffe is a Norbertine (Premonstratensian) Monastery, not a Trappist one. Other examples are: the range of beers produced for the Maredsous Monastery by Moortgat (www.duvel.be), brewers of the famous Duvel; and the Affligem range of Abbey Beers, brewed by the Heineken-owned Affligem brewery (former De Smedt), in Opwijk, fourteen miles (twenty-two kilometres) NW of Brussels, for the nearby Affligem Abbey. Interestingly this Benedictine Monastery produces an excellent monastic cider, which can be purchased at the Monastery's shop at weekends. De Smedt claimed that the recipes that they used for the Affligem beers were the same as those used for the beers tasted by Godefroid de Bouillon, the nephew of Godefroid le Bossu (the Hunchback) (see later), in 1096, and St. Bernard, in 1146, on their respective visits to the Affligem Monastery. Godefroid (Godfrey) went to the abbey to receive blessing before setting off for the Crusades in the Holy Lands. He was to form the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and become its King, in 1099, and see a build-up of Christianity in the area before dying in Jerusalem a year later, in 1100.

Note also, that numerous Abbey-Style Beers are produced in Belgium and The Netherlands, but are not sold on behalf of a Monastery, for example Zatte, from 't IJ brewery in Amsterdam (www.brouwerijhetij.nl and the unofficial site brouwerij-t-ij.tmfweb.nl), and Witkap Pater Tripel.

Witkap Pater Tripel (7.5% Alcohol By Volume) is a particularly interesting beer. It is brewed by Slaghmuylder (www.witkap.be), in Ninove, producers of Slag Lager, would you believe. "Whitecap Father Tripel" refers to the white cowl of the Cistercian order, in contrast to that worn by the Black Friars of the Dominican order. Michael Jackson claims that the Westmalle abbey copied this beer for their Tripel (9.5%), or rather the version brewed by the former Brasschaat brewery in Antwerp province, which was fairly close to the Monastery. Whether the Westmalle monks copied a secular brew for their Dubbel, I do not know, but Westmalle Dubbel (7%) is also much copied, such that a Dubbel brewed by someone else always signifies a dark beer, a Tripel always signifies a light-coloured, but stronger beer.

Westmalle seems to be available in bottle in just about every Belgian café one goes in, and in many Dutch ones, a bit like Guinness in British pubs a few years ago. With production in 2004 of 120,000 hectolitres per year (1,350 barrels per week), it is the second biggest of the Trappist breweries; Chimay is number one, with an annual production of 125,000 hectolitres (1,405 barrels per week). Orval produces 45,000 hectolitres annually (535 barrels per week), but this is much more than the smallest of the Trappist brewers, Westvleteren, who manage 4,750 hectolitres a year (48 barrels per week), and Achel who produce 2,000 hectolitres a year (23 barrels per week). Rochefort's annual production is 20,000 hectolitres (235 barrels per week). De Koningshoeven in The Netherlands produces 22,000 hectolitres each year (245 barrels per week). With a brew length of 100 hectolitres, Orval's throughput represents 450 brews per year, thus on certain days (Monday to Saturday) there are two brews. 95% of the Orval produced is sold in Benelux (87% in Belgium).

Note that the beers from the Abbaye du Val-Dieu, in Aubel, which is close to Liège, represented a new range of Belgian monastic beers, since, as already stated, it is a Cistercian Monastery not a Trappist one. Clearly a new category of beer type is required to cover it, since "Abbey Beer" does not refer to a beer brewed in an abbey. Two excellent beers, brewed using old Cistercian recipes are available: Abbaye du Val-Dieu Blonde (6%) and Brune (8%). The beers' labels initially referreds to them as "Real Abbey Beers"; indeed they are Real since they are unfiltered and unpasteurised, but so are some Abbey Beers! Brewery visits are encouraged. Of course, this is hypothetical now, as Val-Dieu is no longer an operational monastery; its beers are Abbey Beers, which, in fact carry the "Erkend Belgisch Abdijbier/Bière Belge D'Abbaye Reconnue" logo, an "Authentic Belgian Abbey Beer" (or "Certified Belgian Abbey Beer") logo, see below, which can be used by designated commercial, secular brewers who produce beer named after existing or former Abbeys, with the proviso that they make a donation or defined contribution (i.e. brew under license) to the Abbey or to some other defined organisation, in the case where the Abbey no longer exists as an operational Abbey. Authorisation to use the "Authentic Belgian Abbey Beer" is given by "Belgian Brewers" (Brasseurs Belges, Belgische Brouwers) (www.beerparadise.be), from their headquarters at Grand'Place 10 (Grote Markt 10), in Brussels.

The website, www.ocso.org, has information, including contact details, for all Trappist Monasteries, OCSO being the "Ordre Cistercien de la Stricte Observance" (Trappistes). Information on Trappist, Cistercian and Benedictine Monasteries in Belgian Flanders and The Netherlands can also be found on the following website: www.monasteria.org.

History Of The Orval Trappist Monastery And Its Brewery

All of the Trappist Monasteries have interesting histories, but Orval's by far surpasses that of any of the others, and there is also a legend associated with its name and the beer's trademark.

The Orval Monastery, Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval, situated in the hamlet of Villers-devant-Orval, stands alone in a most pleasant wooded valley in an area called La Gaume (Payde de Gaume), just to the South of the Ardennes It is very close to the former Roman road, see below, between Trier in Germany and Reims, in Champagne, in France, the border with the latter being very close indeed. It is not far from the small towns of Florenville (Florenville-sur-Semois) and Chiny, in the SE corner of Belgium, in the province of Luxembourg, which is itself near the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is 190 kilometres (119 miles) from Brussels; Reims, in France, is much nearer.

Referring to sources such as Peter Crombecq's Bier Jaarboek (Year Book) (click here for more details) one gets the impression that Orval beer has been continually produced from the year 1070. This is by no means the case.

At the request of Count Arnould II of Chiny, Benedictine monks from Calabria, the region comprising the toe of the boot of present-day Italy, did indeed commence the setting up in Orval, in 1070, of one of the first, if not the first Benedictine community in what is today called Belgium; it was built on the site of a Christian sanctuary. However, the death of the Count, was the probable reason for their departure about forty years later. The Count's son later installed a different set of monks, who carried on the construction work started by the Italian pioneers. This resulted in the consecration of an abbey church in 1124. The request to convert to the order of Cîteaux was granted a few years later by St. Bernard; seven monks from Trois-Fontaines, Champagne, duly arriving on the 9th of March, 1132 to adapt the buildings for Cistercian use. Within days of this, the same thing happened to the similarly designed Fountains Abbey (www.fountainsabbey.org.uk) in England, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, see above. The resulting abbey in Orval was the first Cistercian one in what is the Belgium of today. In 1252, the Monastery was completely gutted by fire, but was subsequently rebuilt, after almost a century of hardship.

During the 15th and 16th Centuries, wars between France and Burgundy and later between France and Spain brought havoc to the region. Major reconstruction had to be undertaken, even resulting in the installation of a foundry, much facilitated by the proximity of rivers and woods. That a Monastery had an iron works surprises most. In fact, it was one of the largest in Europe at the time. On the approach to the Monastery a pleasant lake can be seen; it was the source of water for the foundry, along with another, from which it was regularly filled. The Monastery converted to the more strict Trappist branch of the Cistercian order at the end of the 17th Century, although there was a move back to the main branch of the order circa 1785. The earliest definitive records of brewing at Orval date from 1628, i.e. in a document signed by Orval's most illustrious Abbot, Bernard de Montgaillard, see below, specifying how much beer and wine, see below, could be consumed by each monk. However, it is quite likely that brewing took place prior to this, from the very earliest days of the Monastery. From 1760 onwards, the place was largely rebuilt, but in 1789, the French revolution broke out, and although initially an internal affair, the conflict soon extended beyond the French border. There were a number of relatively minor attacks on the Monastery, but on the 23rd of June, 1793 the Monastery, its outbuildings and ironworks were completely burnt down, apparently in retaliation against the monks providing hospitality to Austrian troops. The community of monks was sheltered locally for a short time, but was dispersed in 1796, and the Monastery was sold a year later. For over a century the charred walls of Orval were at the mercy of stone- and treasure-seekers, indeed the place was transformed into a stone quarry, i.e. there were long periods when there was no religious community in Orval, and thus no production of monastic beer! The brewer in 1793 was Brother Pierre, the last of Orval's brewers to be a monk.

In 1926, the de Harenne family, who had acquired the Orval ruins and surrounding lands, in 1887, donated them to the Cistercian Order so that monastic life could be re-established at Orval. The nucleus of the new community were monks from Sept-Fons (www.abbayedeseptfons.com) in the Bourbonnais, in Auvergne, in France, who, faced with renewed threats of secularisation, were keen to leave France. They were joined by other monks, including some from Brazil. It is because of the possibility of such threats that European Monasteries were often built close to national borders, to allow easy flight: Orval, Chimay and Westvleteren are a stone's throw from the French border. Koningshoeven, in The Netherlands, is close to the Belgian border.

Between 1927 and 1948, the present Monastery was built, mainly on the foundations of the previous Monastery. Some help was provided by Boy Scouts at work camp! On a normal tourist visit to the monastic ruins, one emerges into an area where part of the inside of the modern Monastery can be seen. It is ordinarily closed to the general public, but the most impressive of façades of its abbey church, featuring Mary holding the baby Jesus, in light, yellowish (ochre) stone, is readily visible from the approach road and from the abbey ruins, see the photo, above left, which was taken by John White, in September, 2006. The stone, quarried locally, is known as Pierre de France, or French Stone, a form of sandstone. The fifty-six foot (seventeen metre) Mary is the work of the sculptor Lode Vleeshouwers. In 1935, Orval was canonically re-elevated to the rank of abbey, Dom Marie-Albert van der Cruyssen, a Belgian from La Trappe in France becoming its first Abbot. The abbey church was consecrated on the 8th of September, 1948, this being celebrated every year on this day in September with a Dedication Service (Dédicace d’Orval), in the monastery's abbey. The abbey's façade is featured in the charity stamp above right; it shows monks poring over the plans for the Monastery. Click on the stamp to see further stamps in the 1941 "Monks Series". Other series of Orval charity stamps were produced from 1929-1943. As well as generating funds, they also made the Monastery more widely known throughout Belgium and beyond. Orval's Beer is also featured in a set of ten stamps, issued in 2006, covering well known Belgian food and drink items: click here for a White Beer Travels Web page that covers these stamps.

The monks who came to Orval from Sept-Fons were keepers of the then secret recipe for the Trappist Port Salut cheese, which originates from an abbey called Notre-Dame du Port-du-Salut (www.portdusalut.com), just south of Laval in the NW of France, which, at one time, brewed. They introduced the manufacture of a cheese in the style to Orval, which is made to the present day. In 1959 the recipe was given to a factory near Laval, where all cheese of the Port Salut "brand" is now made under licence.

The present brewery, which looks like a chapel on the right of the Monastery, when looking from the front, was built in 1931, the foundation date being the 26th of March. It was not built with the intention of providing work for the monks, as the Cheesery did. From day one, the brewery was largely manned by lay people; it was built to provide funding for the Monastery construction, after financial difficulties were encountered, no surprise considering the ambitious, magnificent buildings being created by its Antwerp-based architect, Henry Vaes.

Henry Vaes is said to have based his design for the present brewery building (which replaced a much smaller one) on the one within the magnificent ruins of a huge Cistercian abbey to the South of Brussels, in Villers-la-Ville (www.villers.be). It is presumably a coincidence that this village's name is similar to the one that Orval finds itself in? The two breweries are indeed similar from the outside. The one at Villers-la-Ville has a superb vaulted interior. Brewing is no longer carried out there, but the building is used for receptions, etc. The place is well worth a visit, even if one is not a beer completist or anorak! The photo to the left of the Orval Brewery, was taken by John White, in September, 2006.

Most fans of Belgian Beer will be inadvertently familiar with one of the other works of Henry Vaes, for, in 1932, Henry designed the unique Orval beer glass, see below, the same shape remaining in use to this day. François de Harenne, the brewery's Marketing Director, cites three main reasons for the shape of the Orval beer glass: its high carbon dioxide content results in a large head, see photo below, which caused difficulties in the the original 1931 narrow glass; it is a pleasure to the eye; and it allows the beer's aroma to be appreciated to the full. He also mentioned "Golden Numbers" with reference to the design of the glass and the bottle label, see the reproduction below (consult your maths books)!

Following test brews in 1931 and 1932, the first beer from the new brew house that was commercialised was carried out on the 7th of May, 1932. Note that it did not leave in bottle, as it does today, but in wooden barrels; it was then bottled by distributors such as Nectar, in Brussels, and Safco, in Ostend. It was the first Trappist beer to be marketed nationally. I presume that it was delivered directly from these barrels in certain establishments. Therefore, the news, see below, that experiments on a draught form of Orval, in 2003, prior to it being subsequently commercialised, means that this is not the first time that it has been available in this form!

Note that before a brewery was considered to finance the Monastery's construction, the alternative discarded was the sale of bottled water from the" Matilda" spring, the legend behind its name being given below. The spring water is used to brew the beer. If one visits the monastic ruins, as one stands over the spring, it will be perhaps appropriate to give praise to whoever suits your beliefs that they took the decision to dilute the water before its sale! However, the water itself is today on sale in the tavern near the Monastery, see below.

Today, there are no monks amongst the Orval brewery's thirty-two workers. This is in contrast to, for example, the nearby Rochefort Trappist brewery, most of whose workers are monks. Orval brewery's Chairman is the Monastery's Abbot, Dom Matthieu Cauwe. Dom, which is short for the Latin Dominus (Lord Master), is a title for the Abbot of a Monastery used only by the Benedictine Order (including derivatives such as the Cistercians and Trappists) and the Carthusian Order. Dom Pérignon, cellarmaster of the former Benedictine Abbey of Hautvillers at the end of the 17th Century, is the most famous monk in the world of drink. He is widely said to be the inventor of [sparkling] Champagne; there is a statue of him claiming this outside Moët & Chandon (www.moet.com), in Épernay, Champagne, the rival town of Champagne fame to Reims. (Hautvillers is just North of Épernay.) In fact, it is not true, since Dom Pérignon did everything to prevent bubbles forming. His true claim to fame is the introduction of blending to ensure consistency.

François de Harenne is a grandson of the family who, as mentioned above, made a gift of land to the Cistercians, thus paving the way for the present day Monastery and Trappist brewery. Although only a five year old at the time, he vividly remembers the 30th of April, 1955, the day on which the modern Monastery's first Abbot died.

Note that Orval can now run itself on the bread, cheese, honey and confectionery that its thirty or so monks have a hand in producing, such that the 55% of the profit generated by the brewery is now distributed to local charitable and social organisations; 45% is used to maintain the buildings making up the monastery. Such charity is a tradition of the Cistercian order, a recurring theme in the Rule of St. Benedict.

Just beyond the main entrance to the Monastery, which is used for visits to the abbey ruins and the shop, is the most attractive Court of the Alms, where provisions were formerly distributed to the poor. Note that the lovely area around the entrance is often made even more appealing by the white doves that have their home there. These are the white objects in front of the black and white timbered building, in this photo to the left. It was taken in March, 1992, by Joyce White. Husband John is loading up a Beer Hunt reconnaissance vehicle with purchases from the Monastery's excellent shop.

Orval's shop sells monastic products and books, religious and otherwise. Beer is on sale, in boxes of twelve (€12.50 in September, 2006) (smaller and larger amounts can be purchased from the office at the entrance to the brewery, see below). There are also the special glasses, pottery with the Orval logo, Orval bread, Orval cheese, Orval honey, Orval confectionery, and, for €7 (September, 2006), an excellent DVD entitled "A visit to the Orval Brewery", which plays in English, French, Dutch, Italian and Spanish. Note that postcards posted in the box by the Monastery entrance get a Villers-devant-Orval post mark. Some of the books on Orval are in English. I can highly recommend the cookery booklet Flavours from Orval. As well as recipes based on Orval beer and other of their products, it has some interesting photographs of this most impressive looking of Monasteries, reproductions of Orval cheese, honey and beer labels and beer mats, and a good coverage of the history of the Monastery, information on its brewery and beer, and its cheese.

Another English language booklet Orval Monastic Life is also worth considering. As well as also covering the history of the Monastery, it gives a description of the life within the Monastery, it contains a particularly fine photograph of the abbey church's superb façade, and pretty convincing reasoning for one becoming a monk is presented. I mention the latter because the number of monks in each of the Trappist Monasteries is dwindling, and their average age is quite high: with no monks there can be no Trappist beer! Surely something for CAMRA and its Belgian counterpart, Zythos (www.zythos.be and White Beer Travels Web page) to campaign about? And would it not be a good idea to try to persuade the British Trappist Monasteries to brew?

The ruins of the previous Monastery attract over 100,000 visitors each year. In fact, they get two out of the maximum three stars (worth a detour) in the Michelin Green Guide (www.viamichelin.com). On a visit, in addition to the famous Matilda spring and the impressive ruins, it is particularly worth seeking out the ancient pharmacy (note the hops in the middle of the adjoining medicinal plant garden) and the abbey museum in the crypt of the previous Monastery; it covers the history of the abbey and the Cistercians. There is interesting iron work (Taques de Cheminée or Firebacks, generally featuring biblical scenes) produced in Orval's former forge or foundry (authorised by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles Quint, in 1529), and a scale model of the present Monastery, which was shown at a world fair in Chicago, prior to the actual abbey's construction. The shop, see above, and the ruins are open each day between 9.30am to 6pm (6.30pm in June to September). In November to February, they are open from 10.30am to 5.30pm. Note that the Orval's nearby tavern, see below, has different hours to these. There is an entry charge for the visit to the ruins (€4.50 for an adult in September, 2006). Guided visits in French and Dutch are available.

In the ruins, do not miss the grave of the first Duke of Luxembourg, Wenceslas I (also known as Wenceslaus, Venceslas, Wenzel and (Václav), who was born in Prague in 1337, and died in Luxembourg in 1383; there is a beer and a British link. When the nominally independent fiefdom (within the Holy Roman Empire) around the present city of Luxembourg became a Duchy in 1354, Wenceslas became its first Duke. He was the son of John the Blind (1296-1346), the King of Bohemia. Bohemia, part of the modern Czech Republic (Česká republika), is the original source of the world's most renowned hop variety, Saaz (Žatec). John the Blind, despite his affliction, fought valiantly but hopelessly, before being killed at the Battle of Crécy, in 1346, during the Hundred Years' War. He was on the side of the French, who were defeated by the English, led by Edward III and his eldest son, Edward the Black Prince. Edward III had great respect for John the Blind, so it is said that he asked the Black Prince to adopt John the Blind's motto, Ich Dien (I Serve), and use three ostrich feathers as an emblem, as these lined John the Blind's helmet. The emblem and motto are still used by the British monarch's eldest son, the Prince of Wales; there are alternative theories as to their origin. Wenceslas had a more famous brother: Charles IV (Karel IV) (1316-1378), the King of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Emperor, the founder of the first University in Central Europe, in Prague, in 1348. Charles IV's son was also a King of Bohemia, Wenceslas IV (1361-1419). It was an earlier King of Bohemia, Wenceslas II (1278-1305), who forbade the export of Saaz hops from Bohemia, on pain of death, whilst encouraging the planting of vines from Burgundy. In 1295, Wenceslas II founded Pilsen (Plzeň), granting its citizens brewing rights. It soon became Bohemia's most important brewing town, c.f. Pilsener beers. Charles IV, however, supported the export of Bohemian hops, and is credited with encouraging their utilisation in various parts of the Empire, such as present day Belgium, and much of present day Germany.

In a building just beyond the Monastery shop, there are frequent showings of an excellent audio-visual presentation of the Monastery, which at certain times is in English. The building was formerly reserved for important guests and celebrities; Dukes and Kings were regularly received in it. Some of the meetings of the Duchy of Luxembourg's governing body (State Council) were held there, the Abbot being entitled to sit on this to represent the clergy, as he did for certain periods of time on the equivalent body for The Netherlands. The present day country of Belgium was created in 1830, previously having been part of The Netherlands. At the same time, the present Belgian province of Luxembourg was handed over to Belgium by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, as the extended Duchy was named at the Treaty of Vienna, convened after Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo, just outside Brussels, in June, 1815.

The Legend of the Name "Orval"

The lord of the manor for the land surrounding Orval, Count Arnould II of Chiny, was lower in the aristocratic pecking order than his suzerain, the Duke of Lower Lorraine, Godefroid the Hunchback. The latter was married to the beautiful Matilda or Mathilda of Canossa (Matilde di Canossa), The Countess of Tuscany (La Contessa di Toscana, La Comtesse de Toscane) (circa 1046-1115). The marriage was a stormy one, and the couple only lived together for a couple of years before Matilda returned to her mother in Tuscany, in the autumn of 1071.

Despite her marital problems, the Countess, was saddened to hear the news that Godefroid had been assassinated on the orders of the Count of Flanders, on February the 26th, 1076. This bad news was compounded by the loss of her eight year old son, mortally wounded when slipping on the frozen waters of the Semois. All this is as accurate as historical records can be; it is fully documented in the Orval Monastery's archives. The Semois, a tributary of the Meuse, flows through nearby Florenville and Chiny. Then, presumably, legend steps in, although the story could be true, why not? In an attempt to counter her despair, Count Arnould took Countess Matilda to see the work being carried out at the fledgling Monastery by those whom would be today her compatriots, the monks from southern Italy.

As if she had not already suffered enough, on plunging her hands into a spring within the Monastery grounds, her wedding ring, which had great sentimental value to her, slipped off into the water and seemed to be irretrievably lost. She beseeched the Virgin Mary (Notre Dame) for its return, whereupon the water went into a ferment, propelling a trout into her arms; it had the ring in its mouth. This is no doubt the origin of that well known proverb: "There is gold at the end of the rainbow trout."! A trout with a ring in its mouth, see above right, which was copy/pasted from Orval's website, is part of the brewery's familiar lozenge-shaped logo, a trademark still in use from its first registration in 1934. It appears on bottle labels (see below), beer mats (coasters), etc. The photo, above left, was taken by John White, in September, 2006, This is the Fontaine Mathilde (Matilda Fountain) of the Orval legend. It is in the part of the old monastery that can be visited by the general public.

The event caused the Countess to name the place, the Val d'Or, the Valley of Gold; Orval, is a corruption of the French. Or is it an early form of French backslang or Verlan? The latter is the reverse, pronunciation-wise, of l'envers, which means reverse. Verlan is very common in French-speaking countries, a woman or femme, for example, is often referred to as a meuf. In gratitude the Countess later richly endowed the monks of Orval. Aurea Vallis is Latin for Orval, this sometimes being used in religious texts; Aureavallis is the title of a 1975 book produced by the monastery.

Interesting though the Orval legend is to beer lovers, Matilda, "The Great Countess of Tuscany" (La Gran Contessa di Toscana), as she was known, arguably the most famous female European figure of the middle ages, is more well-known historically as an ardent supporter of Pope Gregory VII. Indeed, rather like an Italian Joan of Arc, as she is oft described, she took her place at the head of her troops in a Papal battle against Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, who at the time was in dispute with the Pope over who had the power to appoint Bishops. Subsequently, at her Fortress in Canossa, the Emperor did barefoot penance, in the January, 1077 snow, in her presence, wearing a hair shirt; he knelt at the feet of Gregory VII, and asked that his excommunication from the Church be lifted, a request that was granted. This has resulted in the French expression "aller à Canossa" ("to go to Canossa"), which in the Larousse Dictionary is translated as "to eat humble pie". Canossa is a village, in Emilia-Romagna, in North Central Italy, in the Apennines.

In 1089, at the age of forty-three, the Countess remarried. Her second husband was the seventeen year old Duke of Bavaria, Welf II (1072-1120) (Welf V in the Welf dynasty). On her death in 1115, she was buried in a monastery in  Mantua (Màntova), in Lombardy, but, in 1635, her body was moved to the Vatican; she is one of only three women to be buried in St. Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro), the world's largest church; her tomb was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). The Statue of the Countess on the tomb is by Andrea Bolgi (1606-56) (he was born in Carrara of sculptors' marble fame), and the bas-relief is by Stefano Speranza. The bas-relief depicts Henry IV kneeling in front of Pope Gregory VII, on the 28th of January, 1077, after waiting three days and nights to be received. The tomb is to be found in an archway between the 2nd and third Chapel on the right, on entering the Basilica.

And What of Orval Beers?

The photo to the left was taken by John White, at his home in Grimsby, England, in October, 2003. It features Orval's famous chalice-shaped glass, see below, and skittle-shaped bottle. The label declared a bottling date of the 16th of January, 2001. Needless to say, it was partaken of afterwards and it was magnificent! The yogurt carton, holding the pencils, etc had a Trappist yogurt in it from the Abbaye de la Trappe, in Normandy, France, see above. Behind the glass and bottle is a framed set of 1941 Orval Charity stamps, purchased by John at the Monastery, in 1992; click on the stamp image above, for a higher resolution scan of these stamps.

Many with some knowledge of foreign beers often believe that Trappist beers are dark, sweet and cloying, and have no hop character. It is true that famous Trappist beers such as Westvleteren Abt (10.2%) and Rochefort 10^o (11.3%) are dark, strong (very strong) and sweet, but they are certainly not cloying, their balance of characteristics making for superb drinking experiences. However, Westvleteren, Rochefort, and all the other Trappist Monasteries which brew, apart from Orval, produce a range of beers, some by no means sweet, and the most famous Trappist style "Tripel" is not dark, as has already been stated.

With the Trout and Wedding Ring logo on the wall, there is no mistaking in which brewery the photo on the left was taken. It shows the first of Orval's cylindro-conical fermenters, see above. Here, primary fermentation takes place, at the same temperature, 14oC, as in the open fermenters. In the vessel on the right, a bag full of hop flowers can be seen, which "dry hops" the beer, this being covered shortly. This is one of a number of vessels where secondary fermentation and dry hopping take place. The photos were taken by John White, in October, 2003.

Yes, unlike the other beer producing Trappist Monasteries, Orval markets a single beer, but what a beer; for me it is simply quite magnificent. It is dry to the taste, one of those beers which once sampled cannot be forgotten, such is its uniqueness, known in French as "le goût d'Orval", the Orval taste. What contributes most to the taste and bouquet I am not certain, but it is will be from a number of factors, including the period of cold hopping (dry hopping) during the maturation phase, following the five day primary fermentation (for the dry hopping, the hops are contained in large tea bag-like sacks). (Although "cold" the maturation temperature of 15^oC is higher than normal.) Dry hopping, common in England when done in the cask for certain Real Ales, is unusual in Belgium, Orval generally being cited as the prime example of it. Another, more unusual contributor to Orval's unique taste, is covered below.

The second fermentation takes place during the maturation phase in horizontal stainless steel tanks, deep underground. It lasts three weeks. From these conditioning tanks it is bottled in skittle (Perrier) shaped bottles, see above, without being centrifuged or filtered. String grown, beet candy sugar and priming yeast are added to the bottles for a third fermentation, the same yeast being used for the bottle fermentation as for the primary fermentation. After bottling, Orval is stored in the brewery for five to six weeks, or longer, before being released for sale, see below and below. The impressive bottling plant was supplied by Krones from Germany (www.krones.com).

The full sequence from brewing to bottle conditioning is at least nine weeks long, i.e.:

* 1 day of brewing;
* 5 days of primary fermentation (4 days in the Cylindro-Conical fermenter);
* 3 weeks in lagering/dry-hopping tanks (2nd fermentation takes place);
* 1 day bottling; and
* 5 to six weeks of bottle conditioning (3rd fermentation takes place).

Note that the introduction of cylindro-conical fermentation, see above, only knocks one day off the overall cycle, when compared with that carried out in the open fermenters.

How did the brewing process and the ingredients for such a great a beer as Orval come about? When first brewed in 1932, did it have the same complex recipe and hence taste that it has today? The first lay person involved with the brewery in 1931 was a bankrupt brewer from Aalst, Honoré van Sande, who originally came to the Monastery as a doorman. However, day to day brewing was carried out by his nephew, Firmin Hosselaer, who remained at Orval until 1949. In 1933, the first master brewer at Orval was appointed. He was a German, Martin Pappenheimer (1883-1942), who is buried in St.-Gengoulf's, the church in nearby Villers- devant-Orval. The grave has a simple, small iron frame with a wooden cross hanging from it with the legend "Maître Brasseur à Orval" - "Master Brewer at Orval", see the photo, to the left, of John White, near the grave, which was taken by Joyce White, in September, 1997. The church is very close to the French border, on the N840, a road off the N88, the road between Florenville and Virton. The road, signed to the Orval Trappist Monastery itself and Chiny, is the N840 on the other side of the N88. Beyond Villiers-devant-Orval, one soon reaches the French town of Stenay, home to "Le Musée Européen de la Bière, et du Pays de Stenay" (The Museum of European Beer and the Stenay Area) (rue de la Citadelle, tel 03 29 80 68 78, www.musee-de-la-biere.com. This, fittingly, has some old equipment from Orval. Click here for more information on this museum, which was visited by White Beer Travels Beer Hunters, in 1999.

Note that in Pouilly-sur-Meuse, near Stenay, in the French Département of Meuse, Orval once had a vineyard that supplied the grapes used to produce a wine for the Monastery. Orval also had another vineyard close to the Monastery, at Blanchampagne, near Carignan, in the French Département of Ardennes. However, the vineyards close to Orval were of poor quality; the Monastery's best vineyard was to be found at Bayonville-sur-Mad, in the French Département of Meurthe-et-Moselle, on the Rupt de Mad, a tributary of the River Moselle, which it joins close to Bayonville-sur-Mad. The latter is close to the town of Ars-sur-Moselle, where the monastery also had a vineyard, along with one near Verdun, on the Meuse (Aux Portes de Verdun - Côte Saint Michel). Detailed information such as this is provided in the definitive book on Orval: L'abbaye d'Orval au fil des siècles, by Father Paul-Christian Grégoire (published by Serpenoise, in 2002, ISBN 2-87692-528-1). This French-language book is available in the Monastery's shop, see above.

It is surprising, but most of the beer books that I have come across fail to mention where the Orval recipe came from. It is not true to say that, being German, Martin Pappenheimer would not have wanted to introduce a top-fermented beer, since there are many examples of such beers in Germany, despite the preponderance of bottom-fermented beers in the Pilsener style, and there are dry-hopped beers produced there, such as the Alt brewed by Zum Uerige (www.uerige.de and White Beer Travels Web page), in Dusseldorf. And, since Orval is so different from other Trappist beers, it is more likely that the source of the recipe is not monastic. Although many monastic beers are brewed using recipes handed down and secretly guarded over centuries, some are not, for example Westmalle Tripel, see above. François de Harenne believes that the beer of today is little different from that first produced, in 1932.

When Martin Pappenheimer died in 1942, Firmin Hosselaer, see above, became the brewer; he left, in 1949, to become an Orval wholesaler, in Aalst.

Martin Pappenheimer came from an area of Germany where the beers had a high hopping level, and Mr de Harenne stated that in the early days he was assisted by a friend of the Abbot, a man from Bredene, near Ostend, Jan van Huele, who had worked for a number of years in English breweries, which is why he was called John by everyone. Mr de Harenne is convinced that it was John, a friend of Dom Marie-Albert van der Cruyssen, the Abbot, who introduced the dry hopping, and thus was responsible for one of the most predominant characteristics of Orval. Indeed, John van Huele set up a brewery, in Bredene, in 1937, which he transferred to Ostend, in 1950. One of his beers, Sano, was very much like Orval, and was served in a similarly shaped glass, with a matching style of lettering, see the photo to the left. This resulted in his contract with Orval being severed. The photo is a smaller, lower resolution version of one very kindly e-mailed to me by Frenchman Cyril Pagniez, who is a real Trappist Beer fan. Click on it, to see the original that Cyril sent me. Details of Cyril's excellent Trappist website are given below.

What one tastes in a beer is often different for different people; I always detect sage in Orval. None is present, only the classic ingredients of malt (pale and caramel), hops and yeast, along with candy sugar, are used. But, somewhat unusually, wild yeast (genus Brettanomyces or Dekkera) are used in additional to conventional brewing yeast. Wild yeasts are famously used to produce the sour Lambics and derivatives (Gueuze and Fruit Beers) from the Brussels and Pajottenland areas, see the White Beer Travels page on the Cantillon brewery, in Brussels, by clicking here. Brettanomyces yeasts were first described in a 1903 patent by the Dane, Niels Hjelte Claussen (1866–1955), the Director of the Laboratory of the New Carlsberg Brewery, in Copenhagen, in Denmark, for a yeast he called, depending which source you believe, Brittanomyces claussenii or Brettanomyces claussenii, a yeast which the patent stated gave English characteristics to beers produced using it. N. Hjelte had isolated it from an English "Stock Beer" (strong, matured beer, used for blending with younger beers). His work was reported in 1904, in the UK's Journal of the Institute of Brewing (308, 10, 1904) (www.ibd.org.uk). One Internet source states that the yeast isolated from the English Beer was originally called Brittanomyces claussenii, to reflect its British origins, but, one seemingly reputable source, states that the genus Brittanomyces was "corrected" to Brettanomyces by H. Kufferath and Marc H. van Laer, in 1921, when they isolated Brettanomyces bruxellensis and Brettanomyces lambicus. However, Mr Claussen's 1904 paper makes no reference to Brittanomyces, but it does have the words "... I have thought proper to propose a particular name for it, and with regard to its close connection with British brewing industry I have called it Brettanomyces.". Interestingly, Brettanomyces is not referred to as a wild yeast in the 1904 journal quoted, since the following appears in the transcript of the question and answer session that followed Mr Claussen's presentation of his paper: "The Chairman asked if Mr. Claussen could say whether the Brettanomyces would exert its actions in the presence of these wild yeasts." Of course, Saccharomyces carlsbergensis was also discovered in the Carlsberg Laboratory (by the person mentioned in the title of Mr Claussen's 1904 paper, Professor Emil Christian Hansen (1842-1909), in 1883). Brettano is Greek for British and Myces is Greek for Mushroom or Fungus (plural Fungi); Yeast is a type of Fungus, i.e. Brettanomyces means British Yeast, c.f. Saccharomyces, which means Sugar Yeast, in Greek, this being given as its etymology in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) (www.oed.com).

At Orval, the wild yeasts do not float into the brewery and settle on the wort, as for Lambics, but are consciously pitched. At one time, a calciferous deposit (Bierstein, Beer Stone, largely Calcium Oxalate) built up in the lagering/maturation tanks, where the secondary fermentation took place; these tanks harboured wild yeasts that got there of their own accord. However, when Professor De Clerck, who was also involved in the modernisation of Chimay's brewery, was asked for advice on improvements that could be carried out at Orval, in 1950, as well as recommending replacing dry yeast for fresh yeast, for the primary and bottle fermentation, he recommended that these tanks be subjected to a more vigorous cleaning regime, which completely removed the Beer Stone, on which the wild yeasts resided. The results were disastrous; the famous Orval Taste (Goût d'Orval) changed dramatically, producing adverse comments from aficionados. To solve the problem, Orval collected wild yeasts, in the vicinity of the brewery, to hopefully bring the taste back. This collection, isolation and cultivation of these wild yeast strains is carried out to this day. Such cultivated "wild yeast" is pitched at the secondary fermentation stage. Note that some beer books talk of five yeast strains and others talk of a reduction from five in recent years, something which they claim has resulted in a change to the beer. The brewery denies this stating that they initially did not know how many strains they were, but talked of five or eight, these not having been subsequently reduced.

By analogy, one reads that the three strains of yeast used for the primary and bottle fermentation have been reduced to one strain, with a consequent change to the beer; Orval are at a loss as to where the original "three strains" idea came from, strongly denying that there has been any reduction from three strains to one strain. For a number of years, yeast propagation was carried out in Louvain-la-Neuve by the Université Catholique de Louvain, but Orval now have their own yeast propagator, i.e. they provide the yeast stored in the "Levurier" (in French, yeast is levure). Consultancy on yeast, as well as hops, see above, is provided by Professor Guy Derdelinckx, who was at Louvain-la-Neuve prior to transferring to his present position at the Malting and Brewing School in Leuven Catholic University (Kuleuven-CMBS). On the Downloads page of the site, one can download a White Beer Travels guide to Louvain-la-Neuve, which gives background on how there came to be a Catholic university in the Wallonian (French speaking) town of Louvain-la-Neuve, in addition to the famous, historic one in Flemish/Dutch speaking Leuven.

Orval has a sparkling bitter-orange colour. Particularly when drunk young, it has a profound hop bitterness (over forty units), the bitterness being accentuated by the Calcium Carbonate hardness of the water from the Matilda spring. The shape of the Orval bottle helps when pouring, should one like a bright beer in the glass, although the yeast in Orval does not have an adverse affect on its taste for me, if inadvertently introduced to the glass, and you get all the vitamin B, etc from the yeast. Indeed the brewery recommends that the yeast dregs be consumed separately.

Like all Trappists, Orval is a top fermented beer, re-fermented in the bottle. The label, see the reproduction above (which can be clicked on for a higher resolution version), declares it to have 6.2% Alcohol By Volume (ABV), although, for legal reasons, bottles sold in the USA are declared to be 6.9%. Note that Orval is imported into the USA by Merchant du Vin (www.merchantduvin.com), who also import Trappist beers from Rochefort (www.trappistes-rochefort.com, White Beer Travels Web page) and Westmalle (www.trappistwestmalle.be and (for its bar) www.trappisten.be).

Note also the "Authentic Trappist Product" logo on the above label, as per the reproduction, below left. This is a sort of Appellation Contrôlée, guaranteeing the product's Trappist origin, in this case, the beer's.

The International Trappist Association (Internationale Vereniging Trappist, Association Internationale Trappist), www.trappist.be, is responsible for authorising the use of the logo (click on "E" on the association's website for the English pages, "F" for the French pages, "N" for the Dutch pages, etc). The "MONASTIC" logo, in the middle, above, is used by a number of European Monastic Orders, such as the Benedictine, Cistercian and the Norbertine Orders, but also the Trappist Order, indeed my Yogurt Pot from the Abbaye de la Trappe, in Normandy, in France, see above, has the MONASTIC logo on it. Note that the use of the MONASTIC logo requires that in addition to the product in question being produced in a monastery, that its actual production must be carried out by the monastery's monks or nuns. For further details, see the "Monastic - Produits Monastiques" website, www.monastic-euro.org. The logo, above right, is a version of the Authentic or Certified Belgian Abbey logo, covered above. As can be seen, this has Dutch and English wording; all combinations of Dutch, English and French wording are possible.

Lovers of Orval are divided as to whether it should be drunk young or old. My personal preference is for a relatively young Orval, when it pours with a huge, long-lasting head, and tastes remarkably fresh, and peppery (from fresh hops, particularly Goldings), just like Batemans XB (www.bateman.co.uk), in November, when freshly harvested Goldings have been used in the brew. Orval is, to my taste, at its most sagiest, when young. Styrian Goldings from Slovenia are used for the Orval dry hopping, along with Hallertau-Hersbruck. At a year old, Orval is almost bone dry, with a pronounced perfumy bouquet and taste. On the other hand, the three year old samples that I have tasted have also all been absolutely superb. The jury is still out!

Analysis by the University of Munich's brewing faculty in Weihenstephan (www.wzw.tum.de) (which is associated with the second of two Bavarian state breweries, the Weihenstephan brewery (www.brauerei-weihenstephan.de), which claims to be the worlds oldest, there having been brewing on the site since 1040), have confirmed that Orval conforms to the Reinheitsgebot, the famous Bavarian and latterly German beer purity law. The tests also showed that old Orval had one of the highest levels of attenuation that Weihenstephan had ever witnessed in a beer: 96% at a year, over 99% at three years, i.e. essentially no sugar remains in old Orval, which makes it suitable for diabetics, in Germany it could be marketed as a "Diätbier", which means that it is low in carbohydrates, but not necessarily calories.

Train spotters can taste le Petit-Orval (3.5%) (Orval Verte (Orval Green)), the beer drunk within the Monastery, in L'Auberge de L'Ange Gardien (The Guardian Angel Inn) (3, rue d'Orval, tel 061 31 18 86), the nearby tavern that is owned by the Monastery. Le Petit-Orval is no small beer (Petite Bière); it is clearly an Orval, in fact it is the main beer, watered down at the bottling stage, with caramel added to maintain the colour. Surprisingly, although it is the same beer, I have always noticed a more dominating hop aroma in it than the more well known, much more widely available beer, even though it is essentially the same, only weaker. On the photo on the left above, François de Harenne is pouring John White a Petit-Orval. Note the green lettering on the glass, to distinguish it from the one for the main beer brewed, the latter having a bottle label, see above, unlike Le Petit-Orval. The photo was taken in October, 2003, by Fred Waltman, see above. Le Petit-Orval was originally made available in green bottles to distinguish it from the main beer, that is sold in brown bottles, but today, they both have brown bottles. Le Petit-Orval costs €2.20 in the Monastery's tavern, the main beer is €2.30. These, along with other prices quoted, unless stated otherwise are September, 2006 ones. Eau "Fontaine Mathilde" (Matilda Fountain Water) in its special, etched glass is €1.80, see above. The most attractive, English-made Verre Mathilde (Matilda Glass), which was introduced in 1999, can be purchased in the Monastery's shop for €2.50. It is a straight glass, similar in shape to the original 1931 glass for the beer that was soon replaced by a chalice-shaped glass that could handle the lively head of the beer, see above.

In the Monastery's tavern it is also possible to have a snack a limited choice hot meal. Example snacks include: Portion de fromage d'Orval (Orval Cheese), at €3; Portion de saucisson Gaumais La Gaume Sausage, Orval being in La Gaume area), at €3; Tartine au fromage d'Orval (an open sandwich with Orval Cheese), at €3; the same with jambon d'Ardenne (Ardenne Ham) and saucisson (sausage), at the same price; Croque Monsieur "Ange Gardien" - crudités (a Garnished House Croque), at €5; Potage du jour (Soup of the Day) at €3; Assiette des 3 patés de gibier - sanglier, chevreuil, faisin (Wild Boar, Venison and Pheasant Paté), at €7.50; and Omelettes made from Organic Eggs in the range €5.80 to €8.20, these including Orval Cheese ones. There are also hot dishes, these including: Emincés de volaille à la bière d'Orval ("Poultry" (Chicken) in thin strips, officially, but comes as one piece of breast, with a Sauce containing Orval, Vinegar and Mustard), at €11; Civet de marcassin grand Veneur et plates de Florenville (Young Wild Board Stew, with Florenville Potatoes), at €14; and Floriflette® à la bière et au fromage d'Orval, at €9.60. The nearest town to Orval is Florenville, which is famous for its potatoes, the "plates de Florenville" of the second hot dish. Indeed, François de Harenne assures me that Florenville Potatoes are the best in Belgium. Floriflette® is a house speciality, a version of a Tartiflette; it is a dish of Florenville Potatoes, with Bacon, topped with Orval Cheese. It is delivered with a "godet de bière d'Orval", which is a small pot of Orval, which one pours over the dish! Click here to see a reproduction of its publicity leaflet, which has a photo of the dish, including the pot for the Orval.

From the photo, above right, which was taken by John White, in October, 2003, it can be seen that draught/tap Orval is available. The draught Orval is being pulled by Jean-Marie Rock, Orval's brewing engineer. However, the bar in the photo is not within the tavern, but is inside the brewery; it is not open to the general public. At the time the photo was taken, draught Orval was only being produced as an experiment. In February, 2006, there were reports that it was made available in a world-class Specialty Beer bar, in Amsterdam, in The Netherlands: In de Wildeman (Kolksteeg 3, www.indewildeman.nl). However, Orval stated that the people who had been led to believe that they had been drinking Orval in this Amsterdam bar had been misled, as no draught Orval in any form had left the brewery. Of course, the draught keg version does not undergo a third fermentation, as does the bottled version. Note that it takes from two to eight months for the wild yeast "Brett Character" to develop, so it is not present in fresh draught or in the beer immediately after bottling.

At one time, draught Orval was just a rumour. Another rumour concerns 75cl bottles; François de Harenne does not rule out the possibility of these making an appearance, at some time, alongside the existing 33cl bottles, but points out that, such is the importance of retaining the existing bottle shape that the larger bottles could prove to be too expensive.

There are a handful of other bars that stock le Petit-Orval, such as 't Jagershof, 53 Grote Vreunte, Waanrode (tel 016 77 72 29, www.cafe-jagershof.be), which is in Flemish Brabant, between Leuven and Hasselt, in Belgian Limburg. This excellent bar is a true Trappist Beer specialist; it has the equivalent beers from Westmalle (Extra) and Chimay (Dorée). Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page that gives further information on the latter.

L'Ange Gardien is an "Ambassadeur d'Orval", one of 334 for 2005-2006; click here to see the list, which is from the French pages of the Orval website (the same list is provided on the Dutch pages, but the English ones only give the six English Ambassadors, these being: Charters, a Dutch Barge, at Tower Bridge, Peterborough (GPS: 52.567978^o N, 0.242013^o W); De Hems, 11 Macclesfield Street (off Shaftesbury Avenue), London; Den Engel, 23-25 St Edward Street, Leek; North Bar, Leeds (www.northbar.com); The Criterion, Leicester (www.mainlybeer.com); and The Grainstore Brewery Tap, Oakham, Rutland, (www.rutnet.co.uk/customers/grainstore). A related page of the site states that Orval wholesalers nominate candidates that are then checked by members of "La Confrérie Des Sossons d'Orvaulx". The page states that the Orval must be served in a clean, dry Orval glass. It also states that the customer should be given a choice of the beer being served chilled or "tempéré", the latter meaning the one recommended on the bottle label, see above: 12^oC to 14^oC. This, in fact, is not adhered to in many of the Ambassadors, even in the Monastery's own tavern. Indeed, François de Harenne feels that it should only be served at the recommended temperature. The page also states that the Orval should be served with a smile, preferably with some Orval cheese!

The list of Ambassadors is updated in December each year, for example, the 2005-2006 Ambassadors were announced in December, 2005. The Ambassadors can display an enamel plaque, the ones in the photo, above right, being those on a world-class bar in Brussels, Le Bier Circus (www.biercircus.be) (it has a selection of Trappist Wines, which, of course, have corks which come out silently). Each year they must hold an Orval promotion involving a large "Montgaillard" Orval glass, these being named after Bernard de Montgaillard, the 17th Century Abbot at Orval mentioned above, who kept the Monastery Cistercian, when there was pressure from the reformation. Montgaillard glasses hold three litres of Orval, i.e. nine bottles. Such a glass can be seen in the photo to the left, clearly it is the one on the top. They are manufactured in Roumania. They were introduced in for the first year of the Ambassador promotion, in 2002. The photo, above left, was taken in October, 2003 by John White, in the brewery's office. Glasses old and new are on display. Note the black one in the bottom right. This is used for quality control blind tastings in the brewery. Note also that there is a glass which holds half a bottle, two of these being found in a presentation pack, along with two bottles, a bottle-opener and four beer mats (coasters).

Other accommodation possibilities in the area can be found on the Florenville Tourist Office's website, www.florenville.org.

The principal hotel in Florenville itself, which is eight kilometres (five miles) from Orval, is the,  26 - 28, rue Généraux Cuvelier, tel 061 31 10 32, users.skynet.be/hoteldefrance, (GPS: 49.697705^o N, 5.308417^o E). The above photos taken outside and in the hotel, were taken by John White, in September, 2006. As can be seen, from the photo on the right, there are photos of Orval on the wall, and there is a fireback made in Orval's former foundry in the fireplace in the same room.

The 22 and 24 buses from Florenville Gare (Railway Station) (GPS: 49.706837^o N, 5.331695^o E), stop near the Hôtel de France; the 24 goes on to a bus stop near Orval, by the just mentioned "La Nouvelle Hostellerie d'Orval", called Orval (Carrefour) (Crossroads), see