Abbey Visits & Trappist Beer Tastings

Belgium’s abbeys are sanctuaries of devotion — not only spiritual, but culinary. Monks here brew beers crafted with patience and prayer, recipes refined over centuries. Visiting an abbey is to step into both history and ritual. At Chimay, Orval, or Westvleteren, you taste ales rich with flavor — dark, strong, complex. Each sip carries notes of malt, fruit, spice, and time. Served in chalice-shaped glasses, they are savored slowly, like liquid meditation. The abbey surroundings add to reverence. Cloisters echo with silence, chapels glow with stained glass, gardens hum with bees. Monks move quietly, their lives dedicated to balance of work, study, and contemplation. Beer here is not commodity — it is culture. To taste it is to partake in centuries of resilience, patience, and devotion. Pair it with abbey cheese, rustic bread, or Flemish stew, and you understand why Belgian beer is heritage as much as craft.