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Lambic Digest #0816
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Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 00:30:05 -0700
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Subject: Lambic Digest #816 (March 15, 1996)
Lambic Digest #816 Fri 15 March 1996
Forum on Lambic Beers (and other Belgian beer styles)
Mike Sharp, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Orval, the last bit (P. Edwards)
Orval history (pt2) (P. Edwards)
Re: Lambic Digest #815 (March 14, 1996) (Bill Slack)
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Date: Thu, 14 Mar 1996 07:43:23 -0500
From: pedwards at iquest.net (P. Edwards)
Subject: Orval, the last bit
"The label indicates that the beer's alcohol content is 6.2% by volume
which in accordance with the current regulations covers the full 5.2 to
7.2% range. Six weeks after bottling Orval leaves the storage rooms, where
it is kept at a controlled temperature of 15 deg C, for distribution. At
this stage, the beer has an alcohol content of approximately 6 percent by
volume, but refermetation in the bottle will continue for another 8 or 9
months. The yeasts exhaust the fermentation sugars which are turned into
CO2 and alcohol. Once the fermentation process has finished, the beer will
have reached 7.1 percent.
The label states the following: "Best before end of..." All you have to
do is dedcut 5 years from this date to discover the beer's age.
Connoiseurs make a clear distinction between "young" and "old" beers.
Whether young or more mellow, each one unto his own. Ideally, Orval beer
is best stored at cellar temperature and away from direct light.
More than just the malts, chosen for their mildness, it is both the great
variety of yeasts and the double hopping method during brewing and
lagering, which characterises Orval beer. Its markedly bitter yet
well-balanced flavor blends well with its smoothness and fruitiness in
spite of a very low level residual sugars.
To appreciate the full flavor of Orval beer, it is best drunk in the glass
designed in 1932 by the architect Henry Vaes and which is still manufatured
today. The shape of the glass allows the beer to devlop its full aroma.
The label suggests with reason that the beer be drunk at a temperature of
between 12 and 14 deg C. Indeed, the three successive fermentations which
have fully blended the beer's variuos flavors, have been carried out at 15
deg C. It's only logical that when drunk at a similar temperature, the
beer again achieves all its subtle flavor.
-end-
[Indeed, Orval never tasted so good as it did last June, when we drank from
hand-blown pre-war Orval glasses the marketing director keeps in his office
for guests. We drank a "young" Orval, perhaps 6 months old, and a bottle
that was two years old. Different beers, the hop aroma of course was
slightly diminished in the older beer, but both were magnificent!
The marketing director was just as curious about how Orval is viewed in the
US as we were about seeing the brewery. When I told the marketing director
how many US beer distributors & retailers mis-handled beer, he told me tha
Charlie Finkel and some Merchant du Vin people would be visiting the
following week, and that the subject of proper storage and handling would
come up. He told me that Orval is shipped to US in containers that are
stowed below decks, unlike like some beers.
Like Todd, I've had my share of dissappointing bottle of Orval over here.
Now knowing what its _supposed_ to taste like, any time I'm tempted to fork
over the 4-5 bucks a bottle it goes for here, I'm going to pass, put the
money in a jar, and save up for my next trip to Belgium instead. I've got
my eye on a nice little place near the town of Rochefort. Could be the
retirement homestead I've been dreaming about. Now I just need to win the
lotto...
- --Paul E
"If beer is art, then Bud is connect-the-dots" - p.edwards 1996
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Date: Thu, 14 Mar 1996 07:43:21 -0500
From: pedwards at iquest.net (P. Edwards)
Subject: Orval history (pt2)
OK, Orval-philes, here's "the rest of the story"
"Today, all commercial enterprises claim to be concerned with quality and
quality control; these concepts form an integral part part of the Trappist
tradition. The monks already strive to comply with the strict rules of the
Order and are also very demanding of themselves. The community would not
dream of selling a product which carries its name far and wide, without
having checked to see that it is of the very highest quality.
This constant concern applies at all levels of Orval beer brewing. All of
the raw materials which are involved in the production process have to
comply with very precise specifications. These are tested, analysed and
tasted. Blends of 4 to 5 varieties of barley malts and 2 to 3 different
types of hops, all of the very highest quality and various origins, produce
a highly reliable beer from the quality point of view. The candy sugar,
which is added to the beer, is chosen for it's very high degree of purity.
The brewery's laboratory cultures 4 to 5 strains of yeast used in the
production, with several of these being exclusive to Orval.
In order to comply fully with the natural rhythm of the successive
fermentation process, the main fermentation process lasts six days,
followed by an additional 3 weeks of lagering. The abbey opted right from
the start of its beer-brewing activity to use the English method of
dry-hopping. Another 6 weeks or so is required for the refermentation
process in the bottle which occurs in strictly temperature controlled rooms
[15 deg C, just like the rest of the process]. The brewery's workforce has
been given training in beer tasting so as to be able to taste the beeer at
all the various production stages, from the water which is used to the
finished product.
Orval is not a large brewery, since it has chosen bove all to remain an
abbey. This restriction on its size is proff of its adherence to the
Trappist Order. Similarly, the brewery's commercial development is
dependedn on satisfying customer demand and not on high-profile advertising
campaigns.
An annual production of nearly 38,000 hectoliters means that the Orval
brewery, one of the country's five Trappist breweries, comes third after
Westmalle and Chimay, but before Rochefort and Westvleteren. There is only
one Trappist brewery outside Belgium and this is located at the Abbey of
Koningshoeven (or Schaapskooi) near Tilburg in Holland.
Orval's particularity is that it only commercialises one type of beer,
whereas others quite frequently put two, three or even four beers on the
market.
Sold exclusivelyin 33-cl skittle-shaped bottles, Orval brews a high [top]
fermentation beer which is refermentd in the bottle. The brightness of its
amber colour is a delight to behold. The yeast base, in the bottom of the
bottle, a rich source of vitamin B, can also be drunk. [As a matter of
fact, the Orval brewery recovers its spent yeast, compresses it, then ships
it to a convent, where it is pressed into tablets and sold as "Trappist
Tablets"]
Highly saturated with CO2, thanks to the action of the yeasts, Orval beer
has a good frothy head which means it stays tasty and full of flavor for a
long time after serving.
(concluded in next msg...)
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Date: Thu, 14 Mar 96 07:51:24 EST
From: wrs at slack.org (Bill Slack)
Subject: Re: Lambic Digest #815 (March 14, 1996)
On Thu, 14 Mar 1996 00:30:07 -0700 Todd G. wrote:
>It's interesting to note that DeDolle has an Orval knockoff
Which of the De Dolle beers is an Orval knockoff?
Bill
__
wrs at slack.org (Bill Slack)
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End of Lambic Digest
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