Rochefort Brewery (Brasserie de Rochefort) is a Belgian brewery which produces four beers designated as

Trappist beer Trappist beer is brewed by Trappist monks. Thirteen Trappist monasteries—six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, Italy, England, France, and Spain—currently produce beer, but the ''Authentic Trappist Product'' labe ...

s. The brewery is associated with the

Rochefort Abbey The Trappist Abbey of Rochefort or Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in Rochefort in the province of Namur (Wallonia, Belgium). The abbey is famous for its spiritual life and ...

, a

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

which originated in the 13th century. The current brewery dates from 1899.

Brewery

The earliest mention of a brewery at the

dates from 1595. The abbey and its brewery were closed in 1794. The abbey was re-established in 1887 and the brewery was re-established in 1899. Around fifteen monks currently live at Rochefort Abbey. The water for the beer is drawn from a well inside the monastery walls. Rochefort uses

Pilsener Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Bre ...

and Munich-type malts, and

Hallertau The Hallertau or Holledau is an area in Bavaria, Germany. With an area of 178 km², it is listed as the largest continuous hop-planting area in the world.Bentley, James; Catling, Christopher; & Locke, Tim (1994). ''Munich and Bavaria''. Chicago: ...

and

Golding Golding is an English surname. People People with the surname include: * Andrew Golding (born 1963), English cricketer * Arthur Golding (c. 1536 – 1606), English translator * Ashton Golding (born 1996), Jamaican rugby league footballer * Bel ...

hops.

Beers

* Rochefort 6 (red cap, brown

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

, 7.5%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

). Reddish colour, brewed only about once per year, representing approximately 1% of total beer production. This beer begins with a density of 16.5º

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

is 7.5% ABV. "Rochefort 6" is the oldest Rochefort Trappist beer and was brewed empirically until the end of the Second World War. Until 1958, this was the only Rochefort beer that was bottled in both 33 cc bottles and 75 cc bottles. It has a strong malt taste and is slightly bitter. * Rochefort Triple Extra (purple cap, triple, 8.11% ABV). Golden Blonde colour, launched in October 2020, first in The Netherlands and later in Belgium. According to the monks, they are still finetuning the recipe before releasing it worldwide. * Rochefort 8 (green cap, brown beer, 9.2% ABV). Yellowish-brown colour, with more fruits and a slight amount of

Demi-sec The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, wh ...

. This variety constitutes the largest proportion of production. Dates from 1955. Originally this beer was only brewed for New Year’s Eve celebrations. "Rochefort 8" begins with a density of 20.8º Plato and reaches a final 9.2% ABV. Due to the overwhelming success of this beer, the monks decided around 1960 to brew it on a regular basis. Sometimes this beer is also referred to as the "Special". * Rochefort 10 (blue cap, dark beer, 11.3% ABV). Reddish-brown colour, begins with a density of 24.5º Plato and ultimately reaches 11.3% ABV. This is a barley wine with a rich, sweetish taste. Some consider this to be one of the great beers of the world. The beers are named Rochefort 6, 8, and 10, referring to their gravities in the obsolete (but quite practical) system of Belgian degrees, in which 6 corresponds to an original gravity of 1.060 (15 degrees P), 8 corresponds to 1.080 (20 degrees P), and 10 corresponds to 1.100 (25 degrees P).

References

External links

Abbey website

Brasserie de Rochefort
Brewery details from ''BeerTourism.com'' {{Coord, 50.1781624, N, 5.2198792, E, source:frwiki_region:BE, format=dms, display=title 1595 establishments in Europe Belgian brands Breweries of Wallonia Companies based in Namur (province) Rochefort, Belgium Trappist breweries in Belgium