Orval
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
Orval is an authentic Trappist ale that is brewed in the province of Luxembourg in South East Belgium.
Orval is a unique beer which comes from the Orval Monastery located near Florenville, Belgium. The monastery was founded in the 1100’s and is run by the Trappist Cistercian monks. There are many things that make this beer unique, one is the bottle. It has a shape similar to a bowling pin and was designed by architect Henry Vaes along with the distinctive chalice pictured above. Another interesting and unique fact about Orval is that it comes from a Trappist brewery which only produces the one beer, which is unlike many of the other Trappist breweries such as Koningshoeven (La Trappe) and Scourmont Abbey (Chimay). Orval is a bottle-conditioned beer similar to Young’s Special London Ale, which means it is an unpasteurised living beer that is allowed to mature in the bottle giving it a fuller taste.
Orval has an absolutely beautiful sweet wafting floral aroma, that is extremely noticeable when the bottle is first opened. It has a cloudy caramel colour to it and is well carbonated. There is also a lot of sediment floating around in this brew. It pours a closely knit head that quickly disappears and leaves minimal lacing on your drinking glass. The taste is super dry, citrusy & sour, similar to that of grapefruit. It is enormously refreshing and leaves your mouth wanting more. This brew goes extremely well when served with blue veined cheeses. It is also well suited to the colder months. Orval is not an easy beer to get your hands on but selected 1st Choice stores and online retailers do sell it. A 330ml bottle will set you back $9.
This truly is a beautiful beer in more ways than one. It’s not the easiest to find nor the cheapest, but if you manage to attain a bottle, I promise you won’t regret it.
Rating (out of five):
Category : Ale, Beer Reviews