Within a matter of weeks drinkers as a few select spots in Santa Fe, N.M., will be able to order Monks’ Ale on draft in a specially designed Monks’ Ale glass inscribed “Made with care and prayer.”
They are bound to have questions, because what will be the first monastery brewery in the United States […]

A New York Times (registration required - free) panel tastes Trappist and abbey-style beers in a what has become a monthly foray into beer (briefly replacing wine) for the Times.
The panel tasted 25 beers and gave 10 2.5 stars or more, including one from each of the five Trappist breweries in the tasting (Westvelteren). Westamalle […]

The monks at the abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren received far more attention in the last six weeks than they’d like. When they explain they don’t plan to expand brewing despite obvious demand they end up seeing stories with headlines like “More beer? Not a prayer!”
As well as talking to the monks at […]

On the How it began page I mention that Brew Like a Monk is in print. As I type this, that doesn’t mean I’ve seen it or that it is for sale. Books are on a truck headed for Boulder, Colorado, and will be available at the end of the month.
Jeff Sparrow, who wrote Wild […]

Note: Since this was written, the ITA granted La Trappe (labeled Koeningshoeven in the U.S.) the right to resume using the logo.
When it comes to beer, Trappist is an appellation rather than a style. Eight Trappist Abbeys – 6 Belgian (Orval, Chimay, Westvleteren, Rochefort, Westmalle and Achel), 1 Dutch (Tegelen) and 1 German (Mariawald) […]