Brasserie d'Orval S.A. - Orval 2

Best beer ever !!!!

This is the heaven for every beer lover! Quiet place, good beer, good cheese.. What else?

Why would they be closed on Saturday and Sunday when everyone has time to go? Very inconvenient.

Very nice, outside and outdoor,

If you like strong full of flavor Trappist beer. The real beer!! Orval it is as good as you expected to taste. Simple da best!!! 5*

A tasteful and well crafted beer but prices are high in comparison to other abbaye that produce beer in Belgium.

Orval is one of twelve Trappist breweries in the world. It is the southernmost of Belgium's Trappist breweries, near France and Luxembourg. The original abbey was founded in 1070, but was eventually destroyed during the French Revolution. In 1926 it was built anew with an architecture that is classical and slightly modern. The yellow stone structures are lovely, and the ruins of the old abbey can be toured for a small fee. I highly recommend touring the grounds after purchasing a token in their gift shop. The stone ruins are amazing, and there are many multilingual signs sharing history of the place. The tour includes a look in the museum below the church, a short film about the abbey, an art exhibit, and a educational tour dedicated to the brewery. You'll learn about the brewing process through exhibits, and there is also a large old brewing vessel on display. The grounds of the abbey are lush, green and very well maintained with a large courtyard inside. In the center of the property is the tall church, where routine services are held. The abbey is happy to welcome visitors and even offers a place to stay for those seeking spiritual retreat. The original brewery with copper brewing vessels was built in 1931. The large modern brewhouse is located on the right side of the property, and is open to visitors only once per year during its open house. The brewery only produces a single kind of beer for distribution, bottled in a bowling-pin shaped bottle adorned with their trout and gold ring logo (naturally there's a folk story behind that). The 6.2% abv beer is quite good, though not the best among all the wonderful Trappist ales in the world. The beer is bottle conditioned with a secondary fermentation, so the flavor and strength can change as the bottles age. On the main road headed to the abbey is a nearby cafe called À l'Ange Gardien, and the Orval beer and cheeses can be tried there. It is a lovely modern 3-story building with a restaurant on the ground level, and it has a front outdoor patio with large yellow umbrellas. The servers are welcoming and helpful. Their food menu consists of breads, charcuterie, salads, omelets, pasta, and traditional dishes. It is a nice family friendly place. Upstairs is an observation level which looks down the road toward the abbey. There is plenty of free parking nearby, and if you decide to visit the abbey, this is a nice place for a meal afterwards. As a special treat, the abbey brews a single little brother beer called Orval Vert which is only served on tap at the restaurant.

On our visit to the Abbey we were able to join in on a brewery tour and it was quite impressive to say the least! We shall the full process of from brewing, bottling, storage and distribution. The best part though was watching the bottles get filled and then capped in such a high speed - really makes you want an Orval, ha!