Trappist and Abbey - What's the difference?

Every now and then, we're going to take a quick look at some of the hundreds of different beers brewed in Belgium and enjoyed all over the world - in most cases.  After all, you never export your very best, do you?

And the jury's out - and always will be - when it comes to precisely which beer is Belgium's very best.  So much depends on the jury's taste buds:  some of us would feel at home in our local with a tankard of mild, while others would be happy with a pint of Stella Artois ("reassuringly expensive", the advertising tagline went before the economy started tanking for real).

Different strokes, as they say, for different folks.

But how do we judge the best Belgian beer?  Like Olympic weightlifting, we could divide Belgian beers into classes, or at least types, but not styles, according to Peter Bouckaert, Brewmaster of New Belgium Brewing.  "In Belgium", he maintains, "There are no styles."  That's not strictly true:  in Belgium there's a lot of style, but let's assume he's talking about the creativity and individuality of Belgian brewers.

So today we'll start our look at some of the types of Belgian beer available today.  Perhaps the most enduring image we have of Belgian beers is that of brown-robed monks brewing up a batch of something not only delicious but also very high-strength.   And that, in many cases, can be close to the truth ... but not the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

You may be aware of Trappist and Abbey ales ... but do you know the difference between them?

Trappist amber ale from Orval.

A fruity dark brown Abbey beer from St. Bernardus.

The monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists, to you and me) do brew up some remarkable beers, many of which can be purchased here in the UK.  The beer brewed at the Chimay monastery, for example, is widely available in pubs, with - like so many other Belgian beers - its own distinctively shaped and decorated glass to drink it from. 

But as far as the monks are concerned, brewing is much more of a tradition than a commercial venture.  Of course, they’re not going to give it away, after all the trouble they’ve taken to make it, but the money they make goes to maintain their monastery, and benefit the local community. 

But Trappist breweries are few and far between:  there's only six of them in the whole of Belgium, and one other one ... in the Netherlands.

Abbey ales, though, are much more commonplace.  Not surprising, really, since the word "Abbey" is more of a marketing ploy, capitalising on that image of brown-robed monks again.  And that's a bit of a cheat, really, because most of the breweries that produce Abbey ales have never had a monk set foot in them - even though they might have the image of one on their bottle labels.

But it's not all crass commercialism when it comes to Abbey ales:  quite a few of the brewers have put special licensing arrangements into place with local churches to brew their beers in their name.  So although the churches in question don't actually have to create their beers, they still receive a portion of the profits.  Beers brewed under this arrangement are labelled "Recognized Belgian Abbey Beer", and although they might not have the alcohol levels of Trappist ales, they're still worth trying … as is any beer brewed in Belgium!

Why don't you have a look through our extensive range of Belgian Beers, and pick a few to have some fun taste testing? See if you can tell the difference between Trappist and Abbey beers!