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Café Hollander is proud to be a grand café in the style of those found throughout the Low Countries, especially the “Benelux” region (Benelux is the region of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg).
These European grand cafes are a comfortable place where neighbors can meet over a cup of espresso, a snack, a meal, or a strong ale – day after day.
From bicycles to lion kings to waffles and mussels and frites in a paper cone, Café Hollander integrates some of our favorite elements of the Benelux region’s rich culture… and none more prominently than the love for Belgian bier.
“The respect reserved for wine in most countries is in Belgium also accorded to beer.  No country can match Belgium in the gastronomic interest of its beers.  No country has so many distinct styles of beer (though several have more breweries). No country has beers that are so complex in character as the finest in Belgium.  No country has so many individualistic brews, nor does any country have such a sophisticated beer cuisine (extending far beyond the dishes that are commonly associated with beer).
The spontaneously fermenting "wild" lambic beers of the Senne valley represent a tradition unique to Belgium.  So do the tart, acidic, "sour" beers of Flanders.  In the production of top fermenting brews and wheat beers, Belgium is one of the world leaders.  No country has as many "methode champenoise" beers, in which a second or even third fermentation is induced in the bottle either by a dosage of yeast or a blending of young and mature brews.  No other country has so persisted with the use of fruits, herbs and spices in beer.  Germany and Belgium are the only two countries to have kept alive on any scale the practice of br only Belgium and The Netherlands have Trappist beers.
Belgium (the size of Maryland) has three languages, ten million people, and 35,000 places in which beer is served. That is twice the density even of pubs in Britain.”
– From Michael Jackson's The Great Beers of Belgium: A Complete Guide and Celebration of a Unique Culture - published and distributed by Vanberg & DeWulf
Bier in Belgium is not just a beverage – it is an experience.
Many, if not most, breweries and specific types of bier have their own glass.
Glass shape can greatly affect aromatic presentation, head formation, even how well carbonation will be sustained. The ideal in these areas varies from beer to beer, thus so do the glasses.
And in Belgium, you’d never serve bier in the wrong glass – it would lessen the experience.
Café Hollander subscribes to that same theory, keeping well over 40 different glasses behind the bar to ensure that your Belgian bier experience is the best it can be.
Hours of Operation:
Sunday - Thursday 8am-1am
Friday & Saturday 8am-2amFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beers from eight of the ten currently (as of 2014) recognised Trappist breweries: , , , , , ,
Trappist beer is brewed by
breweries. Ten
— six in , two in the , one in
and one in the
— currently brew beer and sell it as Authentic Trappist Product.
The Trappist order originated in the
monastery of , . Various Cistercian congregations existed for many years, and by 1664 the
of La Trappe felt that the Cistercians were becoming too liberal. He introduced strict new rules in the abbey and the Strict Observance was born. Since this time, many of the rules have been relaxed. However, a fundamental tenet, that monasteries should be self-supporting, is still maintained by these groups.
Monastery brewhouses, from different religious orders, have existed across Europe since the . From the very beginning, beer was brewed in French Cistercian monasteries following the Strict Observance. For example, the monastery of La Trappe in Soligny already had its own brewery in 1685. Breweries were later introduced in monasteries of other countries as the Trappist order spread from France into the rest of Europe. The Trappists, like many other religious people, originally brewed beer to feed the community, in a perspective of self-sufficiency. Nowadays, Trappist breweries also brew beer to fund their works and charitable causes. Many of the Trappist monasteries and breweries were destroyed during the
and the . Among the monastic breweries, the Trappists were certainly the most active brewers. In the last 300 years, there were at least nine Trappist breweries in France, six in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, one in Germany, one in Austria, one in Bosnia and possibly other countries.
Today, ten Trappist breweries are active— 1 in Austria, 6 in Belgium, 2 in the Netherlands, and 1 in the United States.
In the twentieth century, the growing popularity of Trappist beers led some brewers with no connection to the order to label their beers "Trappist". After unsuccessful trials, monks finally sued one such brewer in 1962 in , Belgium.
The Dutch brewery De Koningshoeven produces Trappist beers – branded La Trappe – that are able to carry the "Authentic Trappist Product" logo. Their use of the International Trappist Association logo was withdrawn in 1999, but was restored in October 2005 (see
for details). A second Dutch Trappist beer, branded Zundert and produced by , made its debut in December 2013, and has also been granted permission to use the International Trappist Association logo.
Orval trappist beer
In 1997, eight Trappist abbeys – six from Belgium (, , , ,
and ), one from the Netherlands () and one from Germany () – founded the International Trappist Association (ITA) to prevent non-Trappist commercial companies from abusing the Trappist name. This private association created a
that is assigned to goods (cheese, beer, wine, etc.) that respect precise production criteria. For the beers, these criteria are the following:
The beer must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, either by the monks themselves or under their supervision.
The brewery must be of secondary importance within the monastery and it should witness to the business practices proper to a monastic way of life
The brewery is not intended to be a profit-making venture. The income covers the living expenses of the monks and the maintenance of the buildings and grounds. Whatever remains is donated to charity for social work and to help persons in need.
Trappist breweries are constantly monitored to assure the irreproachable quality of their beers.
This association has a legal standing, and its logo gives the consumer some information and guarantees about the product.
In 2012, the trappist brewery of the abbey of Engelszell, Trappistenbrauerei Engelszell in Engelhartszell, Austria started brewing beer at the monastery (the former production had stopped in 1929) and in the same year obtained the Authentic Trappist Product logo for their beer.
In December 2013, Maria Toevlucht's abbey (Zundert, the Netherlands) and St. Joseph's Abbey (Spencer, Massachusetts) were both granted the ATP logo for their trappist beers.
The German Trappist
has not been producing beer since 1953 (however it uses the same Authentic Trappist Product logo for its other products).
There are currently ten breweries allowed to display the Authentic Trappist Product logo on their products:
International Trappist Association recognised breweries
Annual Production (2004)
18,000 hL (480,000 US gal)
120,000 hL (3,200,000 US gal)
/St Sixtus
4,750 hL (125,000 US gal)
123,000 hL (3,200,000 US gal)
45,000 hL (1,200,000 US gal)
4,500 hL (120,000 US gal)
(La Trappe)?
145,000 hL (3,800,000 US gal)
2,000 hL (53,000 US gal) (capacity)
? — Recognition for La Trappe beer was withdrawn between 1999 and 2005.
Netherlands
 breweries
(La Trappe)
 breweries
International Trappist Association recognised breweries in the world
Westvleteren
International Trappist Association recognised breweries in the
The French abbey of Sainte Marie du Mont des Cats has been selling Trappist beer since June 16, 2011. This abbey has no brewery at this time and does not plan to build one in the near future, for reasons of cost and brewing skills. They have not excluded rebuilding one brewery in the future. The Trappist beer sold by Mont des Cats is produced by the Chimay brewery and does not wear the "authentic trappist product" logo.
Main article:
The designation "abbey beers" (Bières d'Abbaye or Abdijbier) was originally used for any monastic or monastic-style beer. After the introduction of an official Trappist beer designation by the International Trappist Association in 1997, it came to mean products similar in style or presentation to monastic beers. In other words, an Abbey beer may be:-
Produced by a non-Trappist monastery—e.g. Cistercian, B or
produced by a commercial brewery under an arrangement with or
branded with the name of a defunct or fictitious abbey by or
given a vaguely monastic branding, without mentioning a specific monastery, by a commercial brewer.
Trappist beers are all , including La Trappe , and mainly . Trappist breweries use various systems of nomenclature for the different beers produced which relate to their relative strength.
The best known is the system where different beers are called Enkel/Single,
and . These terms roughly describe both the amount of malt and the
for a Dubbel and triple for a Tripel, marking the casks accordingly. Enkels are now no longer brewed as such.
Colours can be used to indicate the different types, dating back to the days when bottles were unlabelled and had to be identified by the capsule or bottle-top alone. Chimay beer labels are based on the colour system (in increasing order of strength red, white and blue). Westvleteren beers are still unlabelled.
There is also a number system (6,8 and 10, as used by Rochefort), which gives an indication of strength, but is not necessarily an exact
combine a strength and a colour (of the beer itself—blond or brown) designation.
Main article:
The 'Dubbel' is a Trappist breweries naming convention. The origin of the dubbel was a beer brewed in the Trappist Abbey of
in 1856. 'Westmalle Dubbel' was imitated by other breweries, Trappist and commercial, Belgian and worldwide, leading to the emergence of a style. 'Dubbels' are now understood to be a fairly strong (6%-8% ABV) , with understated bitterness, fairly heavy body, and a pronounced fruitiness and cereal character. Examples are: Westmalle Dubbel, Chimay Red/Premiere, Koningshoeven/La Trappe Dubbel and Achel 8 Bruin, Rochefort 6.
Main article:
Tripel (trippel), is a naming convention used by Belgian Trappist breweries to describe the strongest beer in their range. Westmalle Tripel is considered to be the foundation of this beer style, and was developed in the 1930s. Achel 8 Blond, Westmalle Tripel, Koningshoeven/La Trappe Tripel, and Chimay White/Cinq Cents are all examples of Trappist tripels, but this style has proven even more popular among secular breweries like St. Feuillien, Bosteels and St. Bernardus. Tripels as a style are generally beers with an alcohol content ranging from 8% to 10% ABV.
Most Trappist breweries also feature a "patersbier" or "fathers' beer" that is only available within the monastery. This variety is designed to be consumed by the monks themselves, although it is sometimes offered at the monastery's on-site café. The term "patersbier" does not desig it is usually a weaker version of one of the regular beers, and may only be offered to the Brothers on festive occasions, both of these facts relating to the Trappist tradition of austerity. Examples include Chimay Dorée and Petite Orval.
Enkel, meaning "single", is a term formerly used by the Trappist breweries to describe the basic recipe of their beers. There are now no Trappist (or secular) breweries using the term. Instead, "Blond(e)" (La Trappe, Westvleteren), "5" (Achel) or "6" (Rochefort) are used to describe the brewery's lightest beer. An Enkel could fulfil the role of a patersbier, as was the case with De Koningshoeven's when it was in production.
is the name Koningshoeven gave to a La Trappe ale they brew which is stronger than their tripel.
The official Trappist breweries produce the following beers for consumption:-
Achel sells Blonde (8% ABV), Bruin (8% ABV), Extra Blonde (10% ABV), Extra Bruin (10% ABV).
Chimay sells Red Label (dark, 7% ABV), White Label (Blonde/Tripel, ABV 8%) and Blue Label (dark, 9% ABV).
Engelszell sells Gregorius (dark, 9.7% ABV), Benno (amber, 7% ABV) and Nivard (Belgian Ale, 5.5% ABV)
Koningshoeven sells:
La Trappe Blond (6.5% ABV)
La Trappe Dubbel (7% ABV)
La Trappe Isid'or (7.5% ABV)
La Trappe Jubilaris (6% ABV)
La Trappe Tripel (8% ABV)
La Trappe Quadrupel (10% ABV)
La Trappe Quadrupel Oak Aged (10% ABV)
(5.5% ABV)
La Trappe Bockbier (7% ABV) (Seasonal)
La Trappe PUUR (4.7% ABV) ()
Orval sells a "unique" dry hopped 6.2% amber ale.
Rochefort sells three dark ales, "6" (7.5% ABV). "8" (9.2% ABV) and "10" (11.3% ABV).
St. Joseph's sells Spencer (Blonde, 6.5%)
Westmalle sells Dubbel (7% ABV), Tripel (9.5% ABV) and Extra (Patersbier, 4.8% ABV)
Westvleteren sells Green Cap or Blonde, (5.8% ABV), Blue Cap or "8" (dark, 8% ABV) and Yellow Cap or "12" (dark, 10.2% ABV).
In addition to the above, a lower-strength beer is sometimes brewed for consumption by the Brothers () or sold on site.
Belgian breweries have a tradition of providing custom : with Trappist breweries, this often takes the form of providing "" or "" style glasses. The distinction between goblet and chalice is typically in the glass thickness. Goblets tend to be more delicate and thin, while the chalice is heavy and thick walled. Some chalices are even etched on the bottom to
a stream of bubbles for maintaining a nice head.
Chimay beers and glass
's "chalice" glass
's "goblet" glass
Trappist beers and glasses
The idea of visiting Trappist monasteries to sample their beers has become more popular in recent years, partly due to promotion by enthusiasts such as the 'beer hunter' . Some brewing monasteries maintain a visitor's center where their beers can be tasted and bought (sometimes with other monastic products such as bread and cheese). Visits to the monastery itself are usually not available to the general public, although visitors can overnight in some of the monasteries (like Achel) if their purpose is non-touristic.
. 21 November 2012.
. Trappist.be.
. Youtube.
(in French).
McFarland, Ben (2009). . Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 38.  .
, pp. 25–26
Oliver, Garrett. The Oxford Companion to Beer.  .
, p. 25
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