Just as a trout delivered Matilda’s lost wedding band from a pond, Merchant du Vin expects their containers filled with Orval to be delivered to US soil, albeit with a substantial delay due to global freight woes. Because of that, the seventh annual Orval Day will be moved from Saturday, March 26 to Saturday, May 21. For each bottle of Orval Trappist Ale sold that day Merchant du Vin will donate 50 cents to charity partner, the National Forest Foundation. As part of Merchant du Vin’s Trappist Tuesday program, Peaks & Pints suggests you drink Orval anyway today in our extremely small to-go flight, Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Orval Trappist Ale On The Fly.
Legend has it that around 1070 AD, Princess Matilda — a Duchess of Burgundy — was traveling through the forest in what is now southern Belgium. She and her companions paused to rest at a clear spring, and when she trailed her hand in the water her gold ring accidentally slipped off her finger and quickly sank. Upset, Princess Matilda fell to her knees and prayed for the return of her ring when suddenly a trout swam to the surface with the ring in its mouth, returning it to her. She exclaimed, “Truly, this is a golden valley!” (In French, or = gold; val = valley; Orval = golden valley) and she decided to give the land to the church. The first monks arrived soon after.
Located within the confines of the Belgian’s Notre Dame d’Orval monastery, Brasserie d’Orval was created in 1931 to finance the enormous reconstruction works of Orval. It has hired lay workers from the outset, including the master brewer, Pappenheimer, who invented the recipe.
Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Orval Trappist Ale On The Fly
Brasserie d’Orval Orval 2021
6.9% ABV, 36 IBU
This Belgian pale ale is brewed exclusively from spring water, barley malt, hop cones, candy sugar, and yeast. The aroma and the fine taste are due more to the hop cones and the yeast than to the malt that is used. What’s special about Orval’s beer is that hops are added at two different stages of the production process. First, in the brewing room, a large quantity of very fine hops is added — this produces the famous bitter taste and is the reason why the beer keeps for a longer period. Later, in the storage cellars, the beer is dry hopped, which produces an inviting, complex bouquet. On the tongue, expect earthy notes, spice, herbal hops, bready malt, and highly carbonated.
LINK: Peaks & Pints cooler inventory
