Belgian Monks Create Heady New Brew
May 21, 2019 9:51 AM Subscribe
It has taken more than 220 years but an order of monks at Grimbergen Abbey, producers of a fabled medieval beer whose brand was adopted by mass producers in the 1950s, have started to brew again after rediscovering the original ingredients and methods in their archives. The Guardian reports on a heady new brew.
Uncasking the first glass, Stautemas said the development was the culmination of four years of research into the methods of monks that brewed beer in the Norbertine monastery before it was burned down by French revolutionaries in 1798. The monastery was later reinstated but the brewery and its recipes were thought to be lost. ...
The source of inspiration for the new microbrewery, located on the same spot as the original, was the discovery from 12th-century books of details about the original monks’ brewing methods, specifically their use of hops rather than fermented herbs, which put the monks ahead of many of their contemporaries. The books were saved in the 18th century when the fathers knocked a hole in the library wall and secretly removed them before the abbey was set on fire.
“We had the books with the old recipes, but nobody could read them,” Stautemas said. “It was all in old Latin and old Dutch. So we brought in volunteers. We’ve spent hours leafing through the books and have discovered ingredient lists for beers brewed in previous centuries, the hops used, the types of barrels and bottles, and even a list of the actual beers produced centuries ago.”
Only some elements from the recipe books are being used by the monks. “I don’t think people now would like the taste of the beer made back then,” Stautemas said.
Uncasking the first glass, Stautemas said the development was the culmination of four years of research into the methods of monks that brewed beer in the Norbertine monastery before it was burned down by French revolutionaries in 1798. The monastery was later reinstated but the brewery and its recipes were thought to be lost. ...
The source of inspiration for the new microbrewery, located on the same spot as the original, was the discovery from 12th-century books of details about the original monks’ brewing methods, specifically their use of hops rather than fermented herbs, which put the monks ahead of many of their contemporaries. The books were saved in the 18th century when the fathers knocked a hole in the library wall and secretly removed them before the abbey was set on fire.
“We had the books with the old recipes, but nobody could read them,” Stautemas said. “It was all in old Latin and old Dutch. So we brought in volunteers. We’ve spent hours leafing through the books and have discovered ingredient lists for beers brewed in previous centuries, the hops used, the types of barrels and bottles, and even a list of the actual beers produced centuries ago.”
Only some elements from the recipe books are being used by the monks. “I don’t think people now would like the taste of the beer made back then,” Stautemas said.
Do want.
posted by SansPoint at 11:44 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by SansPoint at 11:44 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
“I don’t think people now would like the taste of the beer made back then,”
I've heard this before about old beer recipes, but you know, I would like to at least try it!
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:50 AM on May 21, 2019 [14 favorites]
I've heard this before about old beer recipes, but you know, I would like to at least try it!
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:50 AM on May 21, 2019 [14 favorites]
Yeah, I felt a little bit like, couldn't you just do a small batch of the shitty original so we can appreciate all the more your expert tweaking?
posted by Bella Donna at 12:06 PM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 12:06 PM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
Are hops that consistent in flavor across two hundred years?
posted by lefty lucky cat at 12:23 PM on May 21, 2019
posted by lefty lucky cat at 12:23 PM on May 21, 2019
Ehhh.... yes, no? growers have gotten a lot better at controlling disease and improving quality and removing seed production from the process, etc. So there are base factors that have changed along with the varieties grown, but the general character of the hops is in the same department for traditional varieties.
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:04 PM on May 21, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:04 PM on May 21, 2019 [2 favorites]
Proper monks like we used to have.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 1:20 PM on May 21, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 1:20 PM on May 21, 2019 [2 favorites]
What about yeat varieties? Wouldn't it be challenging to track down what cultures the original brewers were using?
But yeah, will have to snag a couple bottles to try.
posted by St. Oops at 1:29 PM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
But yeah, will have to snag a couple bottles to try.
posted by St. Oops at 1:29 PM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
There's not a chance in hell they'd get the original yeast - and certainly not the original yeast and other critter mix the monks would have had. In reality, this is a creative act of historically inspired brewing and not a recreation.
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:32 PM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by drewbage1847 at 1:32 PM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
As long as the beer doesn't start brewing itself and kill everyone in Monastic Park.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 1:59 PM on May 21, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 1:59 PM on May 21, 2019 [8 favorites]
I've heard this before about old beer recipes, but you know, I would like to at least try it!
Me too! I'm always willing to try a weird beer once (I'm looking at you Big Alice Jalapeño Rye).
posted by Drab_Parts at 2:14 PM on May 21, 2019
Me too! I'm always willing to try a weird beer once (I'm looking at you Big Alice Jalapeño Rye).
posted by Drab_Parts at 2:14 PM on May 21, 2019
In Ancient Brews the author describes the analysis and recreation fermented drinks starting with the chemical analysis of residues on drinking vessels. They went more for authenticity than appeal to modern tastes, in one case trying to capture wild yeasts from the relevant location. IIRC the recipes were pretty complicated mixtures of fruits, grains and sugars.
posted by Botanizer at 3:29 PM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Botanizer at 3:29 PM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
Wouldn't it be challenging to track down what cultures the original brewers were using?
These were wild-fermented originally, and then a "captive" strain was developed from previous batches, right? So I have to say "after this long, probably impossible."
posted by wenestvedt at 7:21 PM on May 21, 2019
These were wild-fermented originally, and then a "captive" strain was developed from previous batches, right? So I have to say "after this long, probably impossible."
posted by wenestvedt at 7:21 PM on May 21, 2019
« Older Niki Lauda, three-time Formula One World Champion... | Plaid shirt optional, but recommended Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:13 AM on May 21, 2019 [8 favorites]