What Are Trappist Beers?

What Are Trappist Beers?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Samantha_E_Goode]Samantha E Goode 

There are only eight Trappist beer breweries in the world and they are all located in western Europe. Six are based in Belgium (these are the most well-known), one is in the Netherlands and the other in Austria. To be called a Trappist beer, the beer must meet a strict criteria and only then can it be labelled with the "Authentic Trappist Product" logo.

The following criteria is as follows:

1. They must be brewed on the site or in the vicinity of the monastery where the Monks live.

2. The monastic community is fully involved in all aspects of brewing the beer, from managing the product to providing all the resources required to create the beer. The Monks themselves will brew the beer, often using recipes that have been unchanged for centuries.

3. Income is mainly used for the needs of the monastic community and for charities.

Once this criteria is achieved, the brewery is able to market their products as "Authentic Trappist Product" which ensures customers know they are purchasing a very high quality beer where most of the profits will go to good causes.

The six Belgian Trappist breweries are:

Orval, Chimay, Westvleteren, Rochefort, Westmalle and Achel.

The Dutch Trappist Brewery is Koningshoeven and the Austrian Trappist Brewery is Trappistenbrauerei Engelszell (this only started brewing in 2012).

The most popular and well-known is the Chimay brewery where many of their beers can be found in supermarkets and retailers all over the UK. However, although some of their beers can be found easily, their seasonal and more specialist beers can still only be found within specialist beer retailers. In addition to producing beers, many of these Trappist breweries also make cheese, which also must be produced within the grounds of the monastery. They brew a wide variety of different style of beers including; blonde, dark, triple and dubbel.

As with Belgian beers in general, each Trappist comes with its own individual and unique glass to enable you to fully experience the taste sensation. 

It is heartening to know that in a world where large corporate companies dominate, there still exists a few places in Europe where beers are produced, not to make them rich, but to ensure their way of life is sustained as well as to help charities. It is also good to know that the beers they make are some of the finest in the world with a large fan base across the world. They have won numerous beer awards and are they are often copied but never equalled.

So the next time you fancy a beer; before purchasing your usual brew I would recommend trying a Trappist beer and help make the world a better place. I assure you that you won't regret it.

The Belgian Beer Company are an online retailer specialising in international beer and branded glassware. We sell an extensive choice of Belgian beers ranging from blond beers to dark, fruit flavoured to wheat beers as well as French, German and British beers. We also stock a variety of flavoured Jenever gins, organic beers and ciders and soft drinks along with matching glasses and fantastic beer gift packs for all occasions. http://www.thebelgianbeercompany.com

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