Beer · Maker · Short entry

Orval Abbey

Cistercian abbey in the Belgian Gaume, rebuilt in the twentieth century, whose brewery has made one public beer, Orval, since a brewhouse was installed in 1931.

Location: Belgium

Status

Burned and looted in 1793; rebuilt from the 1920s; brewhouse 1931.

History

The community at Orval joined the Cistercian order in 1132. A fire in 1252 nearly closed it, and in 1793 the abbey was burned and looted. Rebuilding began in the 1920s, and a brewhouse was installed in 1931 to help pay for it.

The abbey's public beer, Orval, is a 6.9 % pale ale, dry-hopped and bottled with a yeast blend that includes Brettanomyces, whose character shows after about six months in bottle.

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