Let’s be clear: Orval Trappist Ale is an acquired taste. Some people love it the first time they try it, but it took me some getting used to. In August of 1999 I wrote about it:

Are you ready for this? I didn't like this beer years ago when I tried it. I suppose I should try it again, just in case.

Of course you know that I did, and I developed a taste for it, or I would not be here writing about it. It is interesting to me that that process took twenty years to put my thoughts to print, though it did not take that long for me to enjoy Orval. That happened, methinks, about a decade ago.

What we call Orval Trappist Ale has not been around that long, at least not as many historic European brews go. The present-day Orval brewery originated in 1931, and is a true Trappist brewery, located within the walls of a monastery. Brewing most certainly occurred in the abbey much further back in time, though what the beers brewed there then tasted like is anyone’s guess.

It is the unique “Gout d’Orval” that seems to inspire a love it or hate it attitude amongst beer enthusiasts. A local Brettanomyces yeast strain provides funky notes juxtaposed against earthiness from dry hopping; it is the latter that sets Orval apart from other Trappist beers. Candi sugar adds richness. The hops used are Germanic and English: Bavarian Hallertau, Slovenian Styrian Golding and Alsacian Strisselspalt according to the brewery. Belgian yeast, German and English hops, English technique. It is the interplay between the sharp, earthy hops and the funky Belgian yeast that define this beer and provide its quite unusual and decidedly unique flavor profile. Orval undergoes two fermentations and is dry hopped during the second.  

Orval Ale is bottle conditioned and is the only commercially offered beer from the Orval Abbey. In that, Orval is unusual amongst trappist brewers. In his New World Guide to Beer, Michael Jackson says The brewmaster says that Orval likes to do one thing, and do it to perfection. He mentions Kent Goldings being used, though those would provide the same earthy, herbal notes the Styrian Goldings provide today. Jackson remarks upon the dryness and bitterness of the beer, which has not changed to this day.

My most recent encounter with Orval was at the Brick Store Pub in Decatur Georgia on Saturday, March 23^rd. This was Orval Day, and on this day a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Orval go to Charity. The Brick Store offers an Orval Cheese Plate with cheese and a bottle of the beer for $10. Today, it was $15, with the extra five dollars I assume going to charity. You can but it at Total Wine locally for $5.79 the 11.2 ounce bottle. Orval makes cheese as well as beer and I was hoping for the same. I got cheddar instead, a small disappointment but it went well indeed with the beer.

Upstairs at the Belgian Bar, I decanted my bottle of Orval into the proper .33CL logo chalice; some lucky folks downstairs were walking around with full liter replicas. The nose is funky and herbal hoppy and a sip reveals a full bodied beer with a rich maltiness, funky Belgian yeast notes, earthy English yeast notes,  “Le Gout d’Orval in their combination, and a dry bitter hop finish. Orval is such a unique beer that you can read about it all you like but you will never get a fee for it until you experience it. It is not excessively high in alcohol at 6.9% by volume, although that can vary due to the bottle conditioning.

You may like Orval, and you may not. You may not like it at first, and you may develop a taste for it. I did. Regardless, it’s a beer that is so unique and such a true classic that you can’t really be a beer aficionado until you’ve tried it.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

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