VERSION
Brewer Wim van der Spek grew up with Trappist styles
REPRO OP SUBS ART CLIENT
Jeff Evans tells the story of Ampleforth Abbey Beer Breweries create beers with
astonishing regularity these days, but to develop a new ale with holy connections, I would suggest, takes the game to a new level. The tradition, reputation and quality associated with such brews would surely daunt even the most confident brewer. Not so in the case of Wim van der Spek, it seems. Wim found himself in this unusual position when the monks of Ampleforth Abbey came to call. Ampleforth was founded in Yorkshire in 1802 and today is home to more than 34 BEER SUMMER 2022
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55 monks of the Benedictine order. Benedictines work to support their communities and at Ampleforth this means welcoming visitors with a tearoom, shop and even a sports centre. They make cider from their own apples and in 2010 they also decided to sell their own beer. In making the decision to emulate the work of their Trappist counterparts in Europe, the fraternity knew they needed expert assistance and so turned to Wim, a Dutch brewmaster who understood all about this style of beer.
Wim had opened Little Valley
in Hebden Bridge with his partner Sue Cooper in 2005 and had clearly impressed the brethren with bottleconditioned beers such as Hebden’s Wheat (4.5 per cent ABV) and Tod’s Blonde (5 per cent). “I was approached by the monks to see if I could assist in reproducing a beer their predecessors once brewed,” he recalls. “Being from the Netherlands, I have grown up with the Trappist styles. My favourite beer was, and still is, Orval [6.9 per cent], so I felt very honoured to have been asked.
SUE COOPER, SHUTTERSTOCK
PRODUCTION
Abbey gets the brewing habit
