Just a peek at the logo for an upcoming abbey brewing venture coming to the U.S. The brewery is called Benedictine Brewery and it will be located at the Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon. This from Beervana:
After a long period of deliberation, the monks at Mt Angel agreed unanimously to join this old tradition. It's an especially good fit for the abbey, which owns land on which hops are now grown commercially. They're still some ways from having actual beer, but they've gone through the decision-making and permitting process and are now ready to start assembling the brewery.
Since they haven't built the brewery yet, questions about the beer are still preliminary and provisional, although the current thinking runs like this:
- They were originally considering a 15-barrel brewery, but are leaning instead toward a smaller five-barrel system.
- The beer is liable to be at least informed by the Belgian tradition, but "tailored toward Oregon" in the words of Chris Jones, the Director of Enterprises of the abbey. Jones, who's not a monk, has spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be a monastery brewery in Oregon. He and the monks believe the beer should reflect both the monastic tradition--strongest in Belgium--as well as the Oregon brewing tradition (and I think "Oregon" can be read at least shorthand for "hoppier than Chimay").
- They will have a standard stable of beers--perhaps starting with a dark and light one to begin with--and have some seasonals as well. They will begin the process of recipe development soon, and the monks will guide selection. In the meeting I sat in on, all the monks expressed a strong desire to have the beer be exceptional--it's a kind of ambassador to the world.
- The brewery will go in a building known at the abbey (for reasons no one knows) as "the Fort." There will be a tasting room; at least in the short term, Mt Angel is planning to go with the Westvleteren model of selling beer only at the abbey. This is another reason it needs to be a beer Oregonians will like.
- Monks may or may not brew the beer themselves, though there's at least one monk who has homebrewing experience.
- Don't expect beer for a year, maybe more. (Unlike a commercial enterprise, this isn't the only activity on the monks' plate. Mt Angel is, in addition to a monastery, a seminary.) All in good time.
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