Netherlands // Trappist Beer Tasting at La Trappe

Instead of having a traditional Halloween this year we instead met up with a few friends to ride our bikes to La Trappe brewery and to taste some delicious, authentic Trappist beer. Trappist breweries are rare- there are only eleven monasteries - six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, Italy and the US - that brew authentic Trappist beer. From the tour we learned that  in order to be an authentic Trappist brewery, it must satisfy the following criteria:
1. Beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, either by the monks themselves or under their supervision.
2. The brewery must be of secondary  importance within the monastery and it should witness to the business practices proper to a monastic way of life
3. The brewery is not intended to be a profit-making venture. The income covers the living expenses of the monks and the maintenance of the buildings and grounds. Whatever remains is donated to charity for social work and to help persons in need.

It was really neat seeing where they brew the beer and learning about the process. Plus, the beer was absolutely de-licious. Such an awesome way to spend the day with friends exploring a new part of Holland!

click here to view video on Youtube