La Trappe Blond (draft)

<p>La Trappe Blond is a golden Trappist beer with a rich fruity aroma. The taste of the beer is a balanced combination of light sweet malt tones and mild hop bitterness, a harmony of complexity and simplicity. The beer is made from aromatic malt, Belgian Pils malt, Belgian yeast, and Styrian Goldings and East Kent Goldings hops. No spices are used in the creation of this beer, although the taste gives the impression that seasonings have been added.</p> <p>The name &ldquo;La Trappe&rdquo; comes from the French abbey &ldquo;Notre-Dame de la Grande Trappe&rdquo; in the Norman village of Soligny-la-Trappe. After persecution in the 19th century, Trappist monks found refuge in the village of Berkel-Ensoot in the Netherlands, in the province of Brabant. Here, in 1881, on a plot of fertile land that included several farmhouses and a large sheep barn, the Onze Lieve Vrouwe van Koningshoeven Abbey (Monastery of Our Lady of Koningshoeven) was founded.<br />In 1884, the monks began brewing beer. To this day, beer brewing within the walls of this abbey adheres to the centuries-old methods of Trappist beer production. At first, beer was brewed only for the monks' needs. But after World War I, the demand for monastic beer increased sharply, which necessitated the modernization of the brewery and the construction of a new building for it. The brewery was named Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven. In 1959, a laboratory was opened at the brewery, and in 1967, new lager tanks for fermentation and maturation of beer were put into operation.</p> <p>The La Trappe brand appeared in 1980, after the decision was made to produce exclusively top-fermented beer. The basis for creating this beer was the brewing methods and recipes of the 1950s. Innovations affected not only marketing policy; in 1989, a new brewery was put into operation.<br />The Koningshoeven brewery is one of nine existing Trappist monasteries (five in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, one in Italy, and one in the United Kingdom) that have the right to use the name &ldquo;Trappist&rdquo; for their beer. To do so, a number of rules must be followed: the beer must be brewed within the walls of the Trappist abbey, by the monks themselves or under their supervision; the brewery must not be run for profit, and the income must be used to support the monks and the abbey.</p>