1,500 beer fans see behind the scenes at Westmalle Abbey for the first time
Westmalle Trappist Abbey is expecting to welcome 1,500 visitors on Wednesday and Thursday as it opens to the public for the first time in its 230-year history.
Tickets for the two days sold out in a matter of minutes. The abbey says it is considering organising another edition of its open days next year.
During the tour, visitors can see how Westmalle’s renowned Dubbel, Tripel and Extra Trappist beers are brewed, bottled and packaged. The farm, bakery and cheese making facilities are also open to the public.
“Many people from the region and a lot of Trappist beer lovers expressed to us that they would very much like to see how things work in our brewery,” said spokesperson Brother Benedikt.
Belgium has only five Trappist breweries: Chimay, Rochefort, Orval, Westvleteren and Westmalle. The Westmalle brewery produces 120,000 hectolitres a year, a quantity that has been kept deliberately stable for years as the brothers do not pursue profits. About 50 lay people work at the brewery, supervised by the 17 monks.
The monastery in Antwerp province was founded in 1794 by monks from La Trappe Abbey in Normandy, who had fled France during the French Revolution. The bishop of Antwerp gave them a small farm in the Kempen region. In 1836, the monastery was elevated to an abbey.
The Rule of St Benedict stipulates that Trappists must earn a living through manual labour, which led to the brothers developing a range of crafts.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO ARTERRA / © BELGA VIDEO ROBBE VANDEGEHUCHTE
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