Orval Trappist Ale (6.9%)

Back in the 1980s, the predominant influences in Canadian craft beer, or ‘microbrewing,’ as it was then known, were Britain, Germany, and to a slightly lesser degree, the Czech Republic. Pale and brown ales abounded, many crafted according to English brewing traditions, including Big Rock Traditional and Granite Peculiar, while German and Czech lagers provided inspiration for many other pioneering ‘microbrews,’ such as Brick Premium Lager, Granville Island Lager, and Upper Canada Lager.

Not long after the start of the 1990s, however, another influence started to hold sway not just in Canada, but across North America. Thus began the era of Belgian-influenced beer.

There were a small handful of breweries that embraced Belgian styles early on, such as Unibroue and Cheval Blanc in Québec, but the greatest impact during the first half of the decade and into the second was made by the import market. Slowly but surely, Belgian beers like the Chimay Trappist line, La Chouffe from Brasserie d’Achouffe, Duvel, and few others arrived to make an indelible impression on the local beer scene, and for those beer aficionados travelling south of the border, there was the extensive Belgian portfolio of Seattle’s Merchant du Vin, or MdV for short.

Charles and Rose Ann Finkel’s MdV influenced the U.S. beer market in a way few others have, with beers from Samuel Smith in England, Germany’s Ayinger, and pivotally, a carefully selected portfolio of Belgian classics. One of those classics, and an almost instant favourite among brewers in particular, was Orval Trappist Ale.

Orval is unique among Belgian Trappist ales in that the abbey produces no other beers, save for the Petite Orval consumed by the monks and sold only on tap at the L’Auberge de L’Ange Gardien café down the road from the monastery and occasionally by the bottle from the abbey shop. It is also both dry-hopped and conditioned with Brettanomyces, the latter formerly taking place at the brewery but now occurring only in the bottle conditioning.

It is also a beer that has proven to be somewhat variable through the years. In the early aughts, it was a delicious constant on all of my trips to Belgium, as I found the fresher domestic bottles preferable to the older ones that would eventually arrive on this side of the Atlantic after a lengthy voyage and, more often than not, long warehousing. In the mid-2010s, however, production hiccups had it disappointing me on numerous occasions, including a particularly memorable trip to Belgium during which I left more than one bottle unfinished on my table.         

All of which brings us to the batch currently available in Ontario’s LCBO, bottled in August of 2023. Sipping it brought me back to the Orvals I adored two decades ago.

Poured into its trademark chalice, Orval shows a hazy brown colour, mainly from chill haze, but if not carefully decanted, also from the bottle conditioning. On the nose, it presents a highly aromatic mix of Brettanomyces – more musty attic than barnyard or horse blanket – red apple, dried leaf, tanned leather, and a light hint of caramel in the background. The flavour experience begins with a light, slightly fruity sweetness – red apple again, although with some plum and red grape notes, as well – which leads into dry butterscotch mixed with leafy-woody notes, orange marmalade, herbaceous bitterness, and a touch of raw cocoa. The finish is very dry, moderately bitter, and for a beer of its strength, surprisingly appetizing.

As noted, Orval has gone through its ups and downs over the past couple of decades, but the current batch is simply outstanding. My preference for Orval has always been for the fresher, more vibrant experience, which the current offering presents in abundance, but I suspect that this will also perform extremely well in the cellar, for those who would rather their Orval have a few years behind it.

95 ($4.50 - $5.00)