Here we are at day three on our Trappist Thanksgiving.  We started the day with a nice breakfast at the Auberge de Poteaupre and then drove over to the Notre Dame de Scourmont (Chimay).

We met our first monk — Father Edward.  He was in the foyer greeting people as they came in–such a very nice man and to our advantage he spoke English.  Apparently he and the Abbot are the only ones who speak English — so we were fortunate again!

After our trip to Notre Dame d’Scourmont, we decided to drive the backroads back (i.e., avoid Autobahn if we can) — so it took us all day to get back.  While driving near Anweiler (near Trifels Castle), we encountered an accident that closed the road on which we were driving.

We decided to stop in Anweiler for dinner and found out it was their Christmas Fest weekend … so my beer for today was a local Hefe Weizen made by a private brewery–Hoepfner Hefe-Weizen. I was fortunate (again) because this beer is only sold within 60 miles of the brewery in Karlsruhe to keep it fresh — and it was fresh.  This was a very nice Hefe Weizen; and apparently, in 2009, it won a gold medal for quality … yes!  You might notice in the photo that Craig’s drink is steaming … that’s because he was drinking gluhwein (mulled wine … the traditional warm drink at German Christmas markets …

Until next time!

Beer Mentor

Wow!  We got busy early this day.  About 0900 we drove over to the Westmalle Brewery to see it during the day.

We then drove about 1 hour to Hamont-Achel to visit the Saint Benedictus Abbey.  We were able to purchase everything we wanted here (I’ll be posting a few other things on this stop later).  This was a nice locale.

After a short tour around the Monastery (and I mean short–not much to see), we drove 2 hours to Rochefort to visit the Abbey of Notre Dame de Saint Remy.  This was a very secluded monastery–but we were able to get a few nice photos (again i’ll post a longer blurb on this later).

We were a little ahead of schedule, so we broke out of our Trappist Tour and drove over to Dinant, Belgium (about 20 KM from Rochefort)–this city is home of the Abbey of Leffe (where Leffe beer used to be made) AND the home of the creator of the saxophone.  This city is worth a detour if you travel to Belgium … beautiful–even in the rain.

You’ll notice this picture matches the one on the top of my blog — yes, I finally made it to Dinant.  From there, it was a short 1 hour drive down to Auberge de Poteaupre close to Chimay where we were staying overnight.  My beer for today was a beer made by Chimay only available at this restaurant — it is called the “Chimay Speciale Poteaupre.”  A sneaky “witte bier” with hints of coriander and other spices.  It is 4.5% alcohol. Before sampling this beer, we had a Chimay Blue along with a cheese tray of all the Trappist Cheeses from Chimay.

Enjoy!

Beer Mentor

Yes!  Today was a busy one.  We started our morning at the Trappist Monastery of Notre Dame d’Orval.

I will have a separate post of our brewery tour (we were able to sneak in with a group of French students … the folks at Orval are wonderful!)  Then we drove 3.5 hours to Westvleteren to visit the Abbey of Saint Sixtus — we thought their cafe would be open and we could sample some beers; however, the cafe was closed and the only way to get their beer is to make an appointment (I’ll have another post about this).  I guess my friend and I looked sorry enough that the guy said he’d sell us four bottles (it was raining cats and dogs, we were wet, etc etc).

We then got in the car and headed for the Trappist abbey of Westmalle … and promptly got stuck in a huge traffic jam.  What should have taken us under 2 hours took us 4 hours to drive.  Wow!  However, at the end, we had some cold trappist beer — probably too much! .

My beer for today is one from Westmalle — the special monk’s beer (the extra).  They normally make two beers (more about that on another post), but we were fortunate to make the right connections and sample the beer the monk’s drink (see pictures). This beer has a lower alcohol content, but it is bottled the same–just not produced in high quantities.  So far, we’ve been very fortunate on this trip…must be the blessings of the Holy Ale!

Wow, what a great time we are having.    Look forward to providing the update for tomorrow!

Beer Mentor

Yes!  My friend and I are on a journey — a Trappist Thanksgiving.  We are going to visit the 6 Trappist monasteries (in Belgium) that brew beer.  We will be sampling as many as we can (yes) and collecting them and taking pictures … blah blah blah–oh yes, and buying “fromage” from any of the Monasteries that make cheese.  Tonight, on the first leg of our journey, we found our way to the hotel and promptly had an Orval. We were the only guests at this hotel tonight …

What a wonderful beer … I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the start of our Trappist journey tomorrow.  Oh, and we finished off with the big glass …

Beer Mentor