BEER- the choice

erik neuteboom wrote: BEER UNITES ..  !!! By the way, once I visited the Rochefort monastery where the monks brew my famous Rochefort 10. I noticed that on the entrance monks were carrying trays with Trappist beer to a truck and on the other site of the building monks were praying in the garden....you can say that opposites met over there, God and money!

Commerce and religions are never far apart! You should check out the souvenir shps at pilgrimmage ^pllaces!

But the Trappist monk have only their beers to survive. they do not get money from Vatican. This is why outside of Chimay and Westmalle which has taken a commercial option , most of the Trappist beers do not have regular feeds/supplies to shops .

Theyonly brew so much as to have enough to survive. Brewing is a second activity to praying !

Rochefort 6° (red cap) is very rare and the 8° (green cap) is not regulars in shops!

Orval does not have problems since they chose to brew only one beer

erik neuteboom wrote: And what about cheese made with beer? I love La Chouffe and Chimay cheese  !

Actually a lot of Belgian cheese are made with the cheese crust washhed with beer a bit like they do the Camembert with Calvados or Epoisse with Marc De Bourgogne; it helps giving it more flavour!

Outside of that, the beers do not come into the process of making the cheeeses!

But most belgians abbeys make cheeses otr have them made out to their names. but they use to money to upkeep their abbeys and for foods. most of themonk communuties are self-supportive and the convents actually make cookies or Belgian laces.