The Brewery

The beer of Val Dieu is synonymous of quality and authenticity. It is the only Belgian abbey beer to be 100% brewed in a living abbey such as the famous Belgian Trappist beers.  www.val-dieu.com.
The monks of the Abbey of Val Dieu are the ones who are at the origin of the beers which are brewed today on the site.  Historically, the Cistercian monks were famous for their qualities as brewers.  The monks of Val Dieu are in line with this reputation.

The development of this brewing activity was due initially to the fact that water had to be boiled to be consumed as illnesses as dysentery, cholera and typhoid were predominant.   During centuries, monks have studied the development of yeast and the fermentation process.  They improved the production of beer by creating more and more sophisticated recipes. The beers brewed today in Val Dieu have been inspired by the original recipes developed by the monks.  The beers are still produced with the typical process of second fermentation in the bottles.

The beer is an authentic abbey beer, produced without adding spices and brewed in accordance with the traditional process of infusion.   The secrets of the beer are mainly its water and its yeast.

The yeast is very carefully kept and maintained in the abbey.  The beer yeast is composed of microscopic mushrooms (saccharomyces cerevisiae) which are very healthy. It contains a lot of vitamins C, mineral salts and is a very powerful antioxidant.   The beer of Val Dieu is a real craft beer and its production lasts between 6 and 8 weeks.  That is how we can reach this high level of alcohol (6% for the blond beer, 8% for the brown beer and 9% for the Triple beer) and also this very complex aroma which is typical of the beer of Val Dieu.

The water used for the production of the beer comes from the “Barrage de la Gileppe”.  Our region is famous for its springs of very high quality.  Some springs of our region are known worldwide : Spa, Bru and Chaudfontaine are located at only 20/30 kms from Val Dieu.

These are the five beers presently produced by the Brewery of Val Dieu :
Val Dieu Blond – 6°
– Refreshing, light, moderately alcoholic.
– It can be consumed as an aperitif, with a meal or as an after-dinner drink
– It starts with a refreshing flavor and ends with a bitter conclusion.
– It keeps a white coat during the whole duration of the tasting.

Val Dieu Brown – 8°
– Colored.  Stronger aroma.
– With its aspect of coffee/moka, it releases a taste of roasted malt not too deep and not too neutral.
– Slightly spicy, it reminds you that this beer is essentially for degustation.
– It can be consumed at the room temperature or slightly cooled.

Val Dieu Triple – 9°
– It is the result of a long fermentation which is very carefully checked by the Master Brewer.
– Its deep bitterness will still maintain its delicate flavor.
– Aromatized hops will be identified.
– It can be consumed with very sophisticated meals.

Val Dieu – Grand Cru – 10°
– Dark beer, almost black with creamy and brown foam.
– Rich and powerful beer with a very long after-taste.
– Very complex and still soft aroma.  The high level of alcohol is very subtlety hidden.
– It is prepared with strongly roasted malt which gives its very special taste.

Val Dieu – Christmas Beer – 7°
– Amber beer slightly sparkling.
– Nice character.
– Soft flavor.
– Strong aroma of yeast and malt.