Norbertine Beer

The Guardian: Belgian monks resurrect 220-year-old beer after finding recipe
Grimbergen Abbey brew incorporates methods found in 12th-century books

website


NPR
ABC
CNN

An Older Norcia Article

CNA: For these Benedictine monks, to brew well-made beer is to pray

More on Birra Nursia

Rorate Caeli: Fr Cipolla presents the new Norcia venture in the United States: Birra Nursia Monastic Beer

Norica Beer Available in the US

Fr. Z: Benedictines of Norcia make GREAT beer! Coming to these USA!

website

Monastic Brewing

Brew Evangelization: The Ongoing Renaissance of Monastic Beer by Dr. R. Jared Staudt

As craft beer continues to rise in popularity in the United States, those responsible for creating western brewing practices are reclaiming their own

NPR: American Beer Fans, Praise The Heavens: A Trappist Brewery In U.S. (via Tea at Trianon)

St. Joseph's Abbey. Never made it out there, but the New Scot did visit once, iirc. Monks in Spencer launch brewery

The Monks of Norcia: MONKS’ OUTREACH IS PART OF NEW EVANGELIZATION


Related:
Celebrating International Beer Day, Catholic Monk Style

A Happy Day in Norcia

Inauguration Day and a Tour of the Brewery


(the Italian version of the video)

Chimay

The Chimay Trappist Beers, official video in English


(French language version)

Will BevMo! Carry It?

NLM: A New Monastic Beer from the Monastery of Norcia: Birra Nursia

More NLM Posts on Benedictines:
Monastère Sainte Marie de Lagarde
Tune in Daily for the Divine Office from the Abbey of Le Barroux

San Francisco Beer Week 2011

website

Maredsous beer

Google is slow in updating its info -- the BevMo that used to be in Santa Clara has closed; this afternoon I drove instead to the one in Fremont, since it was on the way. I didn't get the Chimay this afternoon, but picked instead the Maredsous Triple Ale and Dark Ale. Maredsous is the Benedictine Abbey, of which Dom Columba Marmion was a member.



Everyone who tasted the beer thought it was good. The ignoramus that I am, it just tasted like alcohol to me, though it was a bit sweet with no bitterness. Since I've never bothered with American beer, I don't know how it compares, but I'll have to trust the opinion of others. So if I ever have a party of some sort, Maredsous would be a reliable beer. (So is Chimay Blue, but that's a bit more expensive.) I should also sign up for a BevMo card. I don't really foresee myself becoming a big beer drinker; it doesn't really suit me, but it's something I would provide as a host for beer-drinkers...



Bl. Columba Marmion
Blessed Columba Marmion - CIN
Blessed Columba Marmion: A Deadly Serious Spiritual Writer Christopher Zehnder
Blessed Abbot Columba Marmion OSB. Bibliography.
Maredsous 8 - Dubbel - Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV - BeerAdvocate
Maredsous 10 - Triple - Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV - BeerAdvocate


Duvel - Intro

Chimay Brewery Tour

Other local beer places

Don't have the $ or the friends (or the inclination, really) to try them out. KK and her husband still haven't taken me to BJ's.

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse

Los Gatos Brewing Company
The Kings Head - Home (Campbell)
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery (Campbell)
Firehouse Grill & Brewery (Sunnyvale)
Faultline Brewing Co (Sunnyvale)
Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (Palo Alto, San Jose, San Francisco)
Boulder Creek Brewery and Cafe
Half Moon Bay Brewing Company
Mission Ale House
Seabright Brewery (Santa Cruz)
Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing
Stephens Green Irish Pub Restaurant and Club
Duke of Edinburgh (Cupertino)
Britannia Arms (Cupertino) (MySpace)
Scruffy Murphys Irish Pub & Restaurant - Sunnyvale, CA
Tied House Café & Brewery (Mountain View and San Jose)
The Rose & Crown English Food & Ale House - Palo Alto, CA
The Oasis (Menlo Park)

San Francisco Brewers Guild, San Francisco Breweries, Beer & food ...
Anchor Brewing Company
City Beer Store - Welcome
Magnolia Pub and Brewery
rogue.com : Micro Meeting Halls - Issaquah Brewery
San Francisco Brewing Co
Thirsty Bear
Wunder Brewing Company ~ Wunder Beer, Brewery, Restaurant and Bar ...


Misc: Clarke's Charcoal Broiler
Dumpling and Noodle on El Camino (SJ Mercury review)

Hofbrauhaus Munich

Hofbräuhaus
Hofbräuhaus München
Hofbräu München

It's licensed a replica of a Bavarian-style beer hall and restaurant to be created at Cupertino Square: Hofbräu Beer Hall Silicon Valley Cupertino.

The Wave Magazine - Silicon Valley's Finest Entertainment ...
Revamped Cupertino mall aims to be 'lifestyle destination' - San ...

KK is interested in going. We'll see if it opens this Summer, or if the declining economy takes it down with it.

There's this in Milwaukee: Welcome To Old German Beer Hall

KK will like this

Catholic Beer Review

Thanks to John Médaille at The Distributist Review.

Korean Beers

The first thing that brought Korean women to my attention, a long time ago, when I was in college, were the poster ads for OB, with their Korean models. The posters were on display in Korean Palace, which is owned by my friend's family. Watcher prefers Hite, and he says their models are cuter and include famous actresses like Jeon Ji Hyun. (Alas, the only model I've found associated with Hite is Kwon Sang Woo.) Of course, I've never tried either brand.

I can't find any sample ads/posters. haha. Watcher says he wants to try some European beers, but I don't think they will be common in K-town LA. If I go to Blink, it won't be for the beer.


Korean beer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monks and beer

I was at the Sunset Grill tonight with Fujian Gal. Sunset Grill does have Chimay, but I decided not to get it, as it was rather expensive. I wonder if one of the liquor stores around here carries them. I think if I'm going to try a beer, it better be a good one... the Catholics at the ISN conference were praising Chimay.

Monk-y beer business
The monks, the beer, the town and one of only five makers of the genuine Trappiste beers on the planet — discover Chimay with Tony Mallett.


When is a beer not a beer? Answer: when it’s a Trappiste.
Chimay is one of only seven beers in the world (six of them Belgian) that can genuinely and legally call itself by that label.

For the record, just so you can impress your mates, the others are Westmalle, Orval, Rochefort, Westvleteren and Achel. The seventh is Koningshoeven, brewed in the Netherlands. Contrary to popular belief, Duvel isn’t one. So now you know.

The nectar that is the world-renowned Chimay is created in a high-tech plant behind the Cistercian abbey of Scourmont-lez-Chimay, which in turn is a brief drive, or a longish monk’s plod, to the picturesque village, near the French border south-west of Namur, that gives the beer its name.

Old Europe meets New Europe at the abbey? Definitely, in technology terms at least.
As for its general location, Chimay’s Grand Place is charming in a rural, off-the-beaten track kind of way. Underneath the shadow of a church, dotted with terraced cafes and bistros (most selling the ubiquitous brand of beer native to the area), there are many worse places to soak up the atmosphere on a fine day.

The monks of Scourmont follow the doctrines of a celebrated – nay, canonised – sixth-century fella revelling in the name of Benedict. Six centuries after the worthy chap shuffled off this mortal coil, the monastery of Citeaux was founded in Burgundy, later to give its name to the order known as Cistercian.

Still with me? Good… In the 17th century, the Cistercian monks of La Grande Trappe (aha!) in Normandy embraced austerity in a big way. Against all odds it caught on – et voila, the Order of the Strict Observance, or Trappist, monks was born.

The beautiful Scourmont Abbey is relatively young – 153 years old on 25 July just gone. On that day in 1850, Trappists from Westvleteren, near Ypres, set about clearing land donated by the Prince of Chimay in order to farm it.

This they did, selling extra produce to the locals and, along the way, finding time to build an abbey, which now brews the beers and incorporates a cheese-making plant. The cheese is rich and rewarding to taste. Marvellous!

The manual tasks involved in the industries tie in so successfully with the monastic ethos that they are now the largest employers in the region. Crucially, the ‘brothers’ have decision-making powers on the company board and pump euro after euro into social projects in Belgium and abroad.

While the monks spend most of their time in prayer and study in their gorgeous surroundings, they dedicate a few hours each day to ensure that the beer production runs smoothly in the ultra-modern brewery.

The sight of habit-clad, silent monks wandering piously through the cloisters only yards from the laboratories manned by techie types sporting white lab coats can seem a tad weird. But you can live with it, believe me. Well, visit it, at any rate…

The fact is, while the sun dapples the pathways that gently weave their way through leafy trees and as the breeze wafts the delicious scent of blooms across your face, there exists a silence that is more startling than any noise.

Day-trippers will find that the atmosphere at Scourmont is both humbling and uplifting, sometimes enhanced still further by the rare but gentle footfall of a passing monk, head down, hands clasped and mindful of prayer.

The brewery itself is off-limits to casual visitors, being housed so close to a deeply holy order, but they all look the same anyway – trust me, I’m a journalist.

It’s the abbey and the small town itself that are the highlights. But I’ve missed something out here…what about the beer?

Well, here’s a bit of histoire: the first beer at Scourmont was produced in 1862 and was sold in corked bottles – the height of technology back then. By 1948, thirsty punters (those with good taste, naturally) could pour the brew from capped bottles.

This original beer – a 7 percent light, coppery-brown creation – is now shipped across the planet. It’s the famous ‘red cap’. I sampled it for the first time in a bar in York, England, around a decade ago and I was so impressed I moved to Belgium. Well, almost…

Also in 1948, the ‘bleu’ first saw the light of day. This one weighs in at 9 percent and was originally intended to be a dark, festive season beer. Prepare to be jolly after a couple of those, Santa…

The Holy Trinity became complete with the emergence of the ‘white cap’ in 1966. This, har-de-har, ‘light’ beer (8 percent!) boasts an aroma evocative of the expected fresh hops and the not-so-expected hint of muscat.

To be honest, these beers are not for the faint-hearted but, as they are all created using natural ingredients, the hangovers are at least worthy ones. No nasty chemicals – just good old-fashioned, tasty ale. Adam’s ale, you might say – but just a bit stronger.

While we’re being Biblical, what about these monks then? Surely not even the most devout could resist the occasional tipple of the fantastic beverages they play a part in making.

No, they can’t resist. Truth is, there’s another brew, nowhere near as strong as the ones that you or I would jealously guard in some bar off the Grand Place, but as tasty and refreshing in its own way. It’s a lighter version of the ‘famous three’ and the monks partake of a glass or two from time to time. Shame you’d need to turn Benedictine to partake.

So, even among monks, old habits die hard.

Updated August 2004

From Trappist Monks, Heavenly Brew
All about trappist beer; wiki
photo; Chimay

The Trappist Beers:
Chimay: the art of Trappist cheese and beer.
Chimay - The Art of Trappist Beer and Belgian Cheese.
Bières de Chimay - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trappist Beer from the Chimay Monastery, Belgium
St. Benedictus Abbey - Achel, Belgium
Orval (wiki)
Rochefort (wiki)
Trappistes Rochefort (FAN-site)
Unofficial web site of Brasserie de Rochefort
Tourism Wallonia - Brussels (Belgium) : ABBEY OF NOTRE-DAME DE ...
WESTMALLE ABBEY (wiki)
Abdij Koningshoeven (wiki) De Koningshoeven Brewery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The abbay of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren (wiki)

The Trappists

Weltenburg Monastery:
Klosterschenke Weltenburg - Our monastery beer is world class (wiki); Weltenburger - Ein Bier im Himmel wie auf Erden; Abbey website
Weltenburg brewery now offering tours - Munich
Benediktinerabtei Weltenburg - A Short Guide to Weltenburg

Duvel & Maredsous
Duvel
Maredsous beer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maredsous: Home
Beers of Europe Ltd - Maredsous

Misc:
Monk's Cafe & Belgian Beer Emporium
Franziskaner Weissbier Brewery Munich. Refreshingly different ...