I chose to visit a local brewery in Tilburg on my first weekend after school started. The brewery is called "La Trappe Trappist", which is an authentic brewery with monks making beer. It is absolutely different from those beer factories of popular brands like Heineken as it looks more like a church than a brewery.
I signed up for a 1.5 hour excursion which consisted of a tour, and of course, a glass of beer. The excursion started at the Tasting Room, which I got to see a movie about the history of the brewery. Before the movie started, everyone could choose a type of La Trappe beer of their choice. I went for a "La Trappe Blond", which contains 6.7% alcohol and a fruity taste.
After the movie, Tony from the brewery showed us around to see the beer production line. The production of their beer is based on three core principles: brew within the monastery, stick with monastic principle and have to be non-profit. The brewery is even awarded as the best social enterprise in Tilburg which I found very amazing. Aside from the three principles, Tony also emphasised that their beer always undergoes a second fermentation that gives a unique taste to it.
I was quite starved after the tour so I decided to have lunch at the Tasting Room. Tony said all the ingredients used there are either organic or sustainable farm produce. I ordered a beef stew and bread with cheese. Since the monastic lifestyle is all about self-sustaining, the bread and the cheese were also made by the monks. All the food had a beer taste in it as either the sauce is made with beer or they used leftovers from the beer-making process to make it.
I concluded my journey by buying some postcards at the souvenir shop. Then I took a bus back to Tilburg centre and said goodbye to the silence of the La Trappe Trappist brewery.
在開學後的第一個週末，我遊覽了在Koningshoeven的La Trappe Trappist啤酒廠。這間啤酒製造工場與一般品牌的不同，它是位於修道院內，由僧侶負責營運的。整間修道院的範圍亦十分大，除了製造啤酒的地方，還有教堂、麥田、餐廳、禮品店等等。
這天我參加了他們一個半小時的導賞團，除了有專人帶領遊覽整間修道院，還可以品嘗他們出產的啤酒。導賞團首先在Tasting Room集合，欣賞一段有關啤酒廠歷史的短片。內容大概講述僧侶們如何因法國宗教政策改變而被逼逃亡至荷蘭，可惜因為Koningshoeven水質不佳而難以栽種，最後有一名聰明的僧侶嘗試製造啤酒，然後慢慢發展成現在的規模。在欣賞短片的同時，我亦品嘗了他們出產的啤酒。他們共出產了9種啤酒，味道亦因酒精濃度亦各有不同。我嘗試了"La Trappe Blond"，一種帶果味的啤酒。雖然Blond算是系列中較甜的一款，但它仍帶有麥草那份回甘。這是因為他們在製作過程堅持要兩次發酵，才會產生這種強烈的味道，亦是La Trappe Trappist啤酒的最大特色。
欣賞短片過後，導遊Tony便帶我們到處遊覽。即使他們大部分的設備已十分現代化，他們仍秉承一貫的3項宗旨：必須在修道院範圍出產啤酒；必須保持僧侶的生活態度；必須將多餘的收益回饋社會。我十分欣賞他們對回饋社會的執著，因他們除了是非牟利機構，更是Tilburg的庇護工場，讓一些弱能人士亦能自力更生。
導賞團過後我決定到Tasting Room享用午膳，品嘗一頓啤酒大餐。由於僧侶的生活態度講求自力更生，所以他們的食材都是自己生產的，保證天然。因此我當然要嘗試他們的自家製麵包和芝士，感受修道院食品的美味。另外因昨天天氣較冷，我亦點了一個啤酒燴牛肉來補充能量。
離開修道院之前，我亦到他們的禮品店選購了一些明信片作紀念，然後便坐上前往Tilburg Central的巴士，離開這片寧靜的鄉郊了。
Information about La Trappe Trappist | 如果有意遊覽La Trappe Trappist可留意以下資訊：
Address // 地址：Eindhovenseweg 3 5056 RP, Berkel-Enschot
Excursion // 導賞團：English tour every Saturday at 11:30 a.m. 逢周六早上11:30有英語導賞團
Fee // 費用：12euro (movie + tour + one glass of beer)
How to get there // 如何前往：Take bus 141 at Tilburg Central Station, get off at Koningshoeven 在Tilburg中央火車站乘141號巴士，在Koningshoeven站下車
No comments:
Post a Comment