November 1997 Volume 20, Issue 11

Trappists Battle Brewers to Keep Beers in Order

TRAPPIST monks who produce and sell their own beers have made a major advance in a long-running battle to stop non-religious rivals cashing in on soaring demand for "monastic" brews. After enlisting the support of a leading lawyer, monks from the six Trappist monasteries in Belgium and Holland have devised a way of safeguarding their reputation for fine brewing. The monks have long complained that big brewers in Belgium and other countries, including America, are labelling their beers to suggest they are of Trappist origin. They also believe that labels bearing pictures of jolly monks trivialise their calling and may explain why they cannot recruit more young novices to a life of strict religious observance.

At the Chimay Trappist monastery in southern Belgium, one of the most famous for its beers, the community has dwindled from around 100 monks to 17, of whom six are over 80. Now, with the help of Eric Bodson, a commercial lawyer from Brussels, the monks are registering a hexagonal trademark, symbolising their six monasteries, as a badge of quality.

The mark, the Trappists' equivalent to the appellation controlee system used for French wine, will appear on all real Trappist beer for sale in shops, pubs and restaurants around the world.

Trappist beer, which can be up to 10 per cent proof, comes in two main varieties, the "blonde" and the sweeter dark brew. Father Ambrose, abbot of Notre-Dame de la Paix Abbey at Chimay, said customers needed to be able to check that they were buying high-quality, hoppy beers, the Trappists' speciality, not imitations. "This is not just an economic issue," he said. "It is also about the quality that customers receive. If you market beer as Trappist beer when it is not then you will not get the real quality."

Because demand for the beer was growing so fast all over the world, action was needed to defend the monks' reputation, he said. He is also preparing for two court cases in which the monks will take on Belgian companies who, they say, falsely claim monastic connections.

Michael Jackson, one of the world's leading authorities on beer and author of the Beer Companion, said several Trappist beers, such as those produced at Chimay and Orval, were among the finest brews in the world. But he doubted that the monks could prevent rivals using religious terms to promote their products.

Several Belgian brewers, such as Interbrew and Alken-Maes (Kronenbourg), had reached agreements with monasteries which allowed them to market their products as "abbey beers". He added: "Their problem is that they let the stable door open years ago. Abbey-style beers have been on the market for a long time."

The Trappists, who drink mild versions of their own brews, are a strict order of Cistercian monks. After the French revolution, several groups moved to Belgium and in at least two monasteries breweries were set up. There are now five Trappist breweries in Belgium, at Orval, Rochefort, Chimay,Westvleteren and Westmalle, all of which produce beer. The sixth is at Koningshoeven in Holland. At Chimay, 10 per cent of the profits go back into the monastery and the rest to good causes.

1997 © The Telegraph plc, London