Orval - An Introduction Into the World of Trappist Ale

By Eric Cioffi

Wow this is an amazing beer! I am no longer a witless fool, benighted and blind to the pleasures of real Belgian ale.  I had long shied from the strange rumors of wild yeasts and untamed flavors bruited to be harbored in these golden draughts. Brewed by magicians this beer is mythical and very special.

 The Orval Brewery is a Belgian Trappist brewery located within the walls of the Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval founded around 1070 AD in the pastoral Belgian countryside. The beer is brewed and bottle conditioned using three different malts, two types of hops, Belgian candied sugar, a complex fermentation process with multiple yeasts, dry-hopping, all of which contribute to great character and complexity.

The Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval

Orval is an extremely intriguing beer. It is the one Trappist beer to get dry-hopped and it is the only Trappist beer to get spiked with Brettanomyces yeast (a wild yeast that creates the unique flavor found in Belgian styles) upon bottling. As a result of being bottle-conditioned with wild yeast, Orval is constantly evolving inside of the bottle. If you drink Orval fresh, it tastes very similar to an English Pale Ale–spicy, floral, hoppy and very dry. But if you taste it after the 5 month mark, you will find yourself drinking an entirely different beer. And the more age it has, the more unique it becomes.

The Orval Monastery Founded on 1070 AD

The Orval Legend

As if the beer wasn’t cool enough itself, the story of Orval’s creation is equally intriguing. According to legend, Princess Matilda of Tuscany was passing through this region in about 1070 with her retinue. She stopped at a clear spring and trailed her hand in the water – and her wedding ring, a gift of her recently deceased husband, slipped off her finger and sank. Distraught, she knelt and prayed fervently for its return . . . and a trout swam to the surface with the ring in its mouth, returning it to her. She is said to have claimed, “Truly, this is a golden valley!” (French: Or = gold; val = valley) She gave the land to the church, and the trout with the gold ring can be seen to this day in the Orval logo.

My Tasting

My bottle was date stamped 23/01/2013 making it about seven months old…A perfect time to open and savor. In the glass it is a deep orange copper color with a dense off white head.  There was a fascinating earthy aroma with fruity and spicy components. Just a hint of hops. The first impression was of how carbonated this beer is making it very light and dry almost like Champagne.  Full flavored, you can taste the spice and pepper elements contributed by the wild yeast as well as the floral hopppy constituent, which imbues a slight bitterness. The malt adds a hint of bready sweetness and the finish is moderate and slightly bitter.

This is a unique and complex ale, words do not capture all of the nuances and subtle shades of flavor hidden in the bottle.  This is not a beer for Bud drinkers.  It will expand your mind.  Grab a bottle and taste the magic.

Trappist Belgian Pale Ale | 6.9% ABV

Rating: 95 

One Happy Monk!