Trappist Ales
Crafted by monks, Trappist ales are some of the most awarded and coveted beers in the world.
Ready to Explore?
Dry, strong and bubbly: Trappist beers were originally created at La Trappe abbey in Normandy, France by monks who became known as Trappists. Today, there are 14 abbeys – including six in Belgium – crafting Trappist ales, which are famous for their exceptional quality and distinctive flavours. Just as the designation of Champagne is only given to sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France, only ales made under the strict supervision of monks or nuns within the walls of a monastery can be considered authentic Trappist ales.
You May Taste
There are three main styles within the Trappist family:
Dubbels are a deep copper colour with a medium-full body, carbonation and 6-7.5% ABV. Expect flavours of caramel, dark bread, chocolate malt, raisin, plum, banana, apple, light clove and pepper.
Tripels are golden, dry and highly effervescent with elevated ABVs (7-10%). These beers offer pronounced floral, herbal and hop characters with spicy white pepper, wild arugula, orange and lemon citrus notes.
Quadrupels are the darkest and strongest of the Trappist ales. These complex beers have a full body and are highly carbonated with 8-14% ABV. You’ll taste flavours of brown sugar, fig, date, raisin, cocoa, toasted malt and a hint of pepper.
Sip Them With
Pair malt-forward dubbels and quadrupels with roasted mains like lamb, chicken or pork with peppery stuffing, tangy cranberry sauce or Yorkshire pudding. For dessert, try these ales with date squares or sticky toffee pudding. The herbal notes in tripels match well with pesto-topped pasta or pizza while the ale’s citrus notes are perfectly partnered with lemon meringue pie and pineapple upside-down cake.
Serving Tips
Take the beer out of the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before serving, letting it warm up a bit to open up the flavours. Serve your Trappist ale in a stemmed tulip or goblet glass.
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Beer FAQs
Your Top Questions Answered
What is craft beer?
Craft beer is made by small-scale breweries, often independently owned, that practise traditional artisanal brewing techniques to create authentic and uniquely flavourful beers. These craft brewers may focus on either classic or lesser-known styles of traditional beer, or create innovative new modern brews.
How many calories are in a beer?
A standard 340-millilitre or 12-ounce beer that has five per cent alcohol by volume has about 150 calories. Styles of beer that contain more alcohol, such as IPAs, have more calories — up to 170. Light beers, which have less alcohol, have around 100 calories. While darker beers sometimes have a higher alcohol content and therefore more calories, that’s not always the case: consider Guinness Draught, a dark stout, which has just over four per cent alcohol by volume and 125 calories per 12 ounces.
How many beers are in a keg?
Most standard North American kegs hold 58.7 litres: in terms of standard 340-millilitre or 12-ounce bottles or cans, that’s 165 servings; if you’re counting by 16-ounce pints, its 124 servings. European beers often come in 50-litre kegs, yielding 140 340-millilitre glasses or 105 pints. Smaller 30-litre kegs (sometimes called “pony kegs”) give 82 standard beers or 62 pints. Mini-kegs (Heineken, for example) hold five litres: that’s about 10 pints or 14 glasses.
How is beer made?
All beer is made with four key ingredients: barley (or other grains), water, hops and yeast. First, barley is malted (meaning the grains are sprouted and then kiln-dried) to get ready for brewing. The malt is then mashed, or cooked with warm water, to create a sugary liquid called wort. The wort is boiled with flavouring hops, and then in the final step, it’s fermented with yeast, which creates the alcohol and finished beer.
There are many different styles and regional traditions of brewing, but to simplify, they basically fall into two categories: for ale, the beer is stored at room temperature while the yeast feeds on the sugar in the wort and produces CO2 and alcohol as by-products; for lager, fermentation is the same, but it happens at cooler temperatures so the process takes a little longer
How long does beer last?
Check for an expiry or best-before date on bottles and cans: “best” is best when consumed fresh. Bottles and cans stored at room temperature are safe to drink for at least four months after purchase and up to eight months when it’s stored in the refrigerator or a cool place. Draft or craft beer stored in a glass bottle keeps for two or three days in the refrigerator when tightly capped. And remember, keep beer away from light: it can develop a “skunky” flavour from a chemical reaction to UV light, which is why it’s usually packaged in cans or dark glass bottles.
What is beer made of?
Most beer is made from just barley, water, hops and yeast. That’s all! Each ingredient contributes to the beer’s flavour, as do the specifics of the production process. Some brewers may use other grains, such as corn, rye, rice, wheat or even oats, to produce different types of beer. Some styles even incorporate additional flavouring ingredients, including fruits and herbs.
