Description

Achel Brewery is the newest and smallest of seven approved Trappist monastery breweries. More formally known as the Brouwerij der Sint-Benedictusabdij de Achelse Kluis, it is located at the Abbey of Saint Benedict in the northeast Belgian border town of Achel, although part of the abbey actually lies in Holland.

The brewery opened in 1998, following the sale of some land around the abbey to raise money for the project. The abbey had been home to a brewery before World War I, but its copper kettles were pilfered by the invading German army. After the war, the monastery supported itself by raising cattle and growing and selling fruits and vegetables. In the late 1990s, however, a brother in the community was quoted as saying, “Beer is the most suitable product for an abbey.”

The abbey recruited the revered Brother Thomas, who had brewed at Trappist Abbey of Westmalle, to help launch the new brewery. Brother Thomas also brought the Westmalle yeast, which is still used to ferment the Achel beers. Achel (pronounced Arkul) built the brewery on the site of an old dairy barn and for a time only served their beers on premises. A bottling line was later added and the abbey currently produces about 3,000 hl (300,000 liters) per year.

Achel Brewery or Brouwerij der Sint-Benedictusabdij de Achelse Kluis was a Belgian Trappist brewery, until January 2021. It continues to operate as a brewery but is no longer Trappist, as the brewing monks whose presence gave rise to that status have retired