Achel Brewery

Geschiedenis

Achel Brewery or Brouwerij der Sint-Benedictusabdij de Achelse Kluis is a Belgian Trappist brewery, and the smallest of the Belgian Trappist breweries. It is located in the Abbey of Saint Benedict in the Belgian municipality of Hamont-Achel. It brews five Trappist beers.HistoryThe history of the brewery goes back to 1648, when Dutch monks built a chapel in Achel. The chapel became an abbey in 1686, but was destroyed during the period of the French Revolution. In 1844, the ruins were rebuilt by monks from Westmalle, and various farming activities began. The first beer to be brewed on the site was the Patersvaatje in 1852, and 19 years later in 1871, the site became a Trappist monastery, with beer brewing a regular activity.In 1914 during World War I, the monks left the abbey due to German occupation. The Germans dismantled the brewery in 1917 to salvage the approximately 700 kg of copper. In 1998 the monks decided to begin brewing again. Monks from the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle and Rochefort Abbey assisted in the building of the new brewery. In 2001, the brewery released the Achel 8° beers.Like all other Trappist breweries, the beers are sold in order to support the monastery and charities.BeersThe beers are labelled by their alcohol percentage and colour, with "Bruin" and "Blond" meaning "brown" and "blonde" in Dutch. Achel Blond 5°, 5% ABV Achel Bruin 5°, 5% ABV Achel Blond 8°, 8% ABV Achel Bruin 8°, 8% ABV Achel Extra, 9.5% ABV Bruin (75cl only) Achel Extra, 9.5% ABV Blond (75cl only) The Blond 5° and Bruin 5° are only available on tap at the abbey whilst, except from the Achel Extra Blond, the others are marketed worldwide. The Achel Extra Blond is only sold in the abbey.

"De Sint-Benedictusabdij, ook wel beter bekend als “de Achelse Kluis” is opgericht in 1686. De abdij stond bekend voor het brouwen van één van de Belgische trappisten: de Achelse Trappist. De benaming 'trappist' is echter niet meer mits er geen paters meer op de site zijn. Het bier wordt momenteel nog steeds binnen de abdijmuren gebrouwen en kan geproefd worden in onze brasserie of aangekocht worden in onze voedingswinkel. Hier kunt u ook meer dan 200 verschillende soorten bier vinden, verschillende etenswaren en snoep kopen. Ook zijn er talrijke religieuze items verkrijgbaar.Doordat er geen paters meer actief zijn kunnen de rondleidingen door de gehele abdij gegeven worden. Hier kan men een afspraak voor maken via telefoon of mail."