Achel

Trappist Abbey of St. Benedictus Achel

Coordinates: 51 ° 17 ′ 55.6 ″  N , 5 ° 29 ′ 18.9 ″  E

Achel is a former Trappist abbey ( St. Benedictus-Abdij ; dt. Abtei Sankt Benedikt ; lat. Abbatia BM de Sancto Benedicto ) in Achel ( Limburg province ), in which the Belgian Trappist beer of the same name is brewed.

Monastery and brewery history

Achel was first mentioned in 1648 when Dutch monks built a chapel there. In 1686 this chapel was expanded into a hermitage , which however fell victim to destruction during the years of the French Revolution .

It was not until 1844 that the monastery was rebuilt by Trappist monks from Westmalle Abbey on the site of the hermitage, which was closed in 1794, and opened in 1846. At the same time agriculture was resumed.

On July 12, 1850 , King Leopold I granted the monastery permission to brew beer for its own use. The first beer, Patersvaatje , was brewed two years later .

In 1871 the monastery became an abbey and beer brewing became a regular activity.

Bottle and glass of Achel

In 1914 the Achel Trappist monks had to flee from the German occupation in the First World War . The occupiers destroyed the monastery brewery in 1917 in order to capture around 700 kg of copper .

After the end of the war, a new abbey church was built between 1945 and 1949 , but it was not until 1998 that the monks decided to rebuild the brewery. This was done with the help of Trappists from Westmalle and Rochefort . In 2011 the convention was dissolved. The monastery was administered by Westmalle until 2018. Since 2018 it has housed a community of the Fazenda da Esperança .

Types of beer

The brewery currently produces two draft beers (light 5%, dark 5%) and, since 2001, three bottled beers (Tripel 8%, dark 8%, dark extra 9.5%). Bottling is carried out in the BIOS- Van Steenberge brewery in Ertvelde .

The annual output is approx. 4,500  hl , making Achel the smallest of the active Trappist breweries . The proceeds from the sale will benefit the monastery and charitable institutions.

In addition to Achel, only five other Trappist beers are allowed to carry the legally protected Authentic Trappist Product label in Belgium : Westvleteren , Chimay , Orval , Rochefort and Westmalle .

literature

• Karl Suso Frank: Article Achel , in: LThK , 3rd ed., Vol. 1, Sp. 112.

Web links

• Trappist beer and monks

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.ocso.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2011-31122011-Statistiques-Moines-Monks-Monjes.pdf