Founded in 1899 by the monks of Konigshoeven, the Trappist abbey called Abdij Maria Toevlucht is located near Klein Zundert in The Netherlands. After reducing their agricultural practices over the last several decades, the monks were looking for a way to help fund their abbey. They decided to join the 8 other Trappist Abbeys brewing beer. They began the process of adding the brewery in October of 2011.
Zundert Trappist Ale was officially released in December of 2013 making it the 9th official Trappist Abbey to join the Authentic Trappist Product (ATP) club. The first bottles released didn’t have the ATP logo, but subsequent releases will have it. The International Trappist Association granted Zundert the right to use it on December 10th, 2013.
(If you’d like to learn more about The Brewing Monks, you can click here to read the first post in my series about monastic brewing).
Appearance: Amber/brown, tan head, ok retention.
Aroma: Caramel, cinnamon, milk chocolate, chai, nutmeg.
Taste: malty, caramel, hints of toffee, spicy/peppery finish. Velvety mouthfeel
Overall Impression: Zundert’s first release is a nice beer with some good character and a touch of yeasty spice. This isn’t the most complex of the Trappist beers, but it’s a nice first effort. I’m sure as the brewery develops and the recipe is tweaked and modified, the beer will continue to develop into something unique like the beers of its Trappist brethren. The same comments were often made about Achel’s first beers, but today they’re regarded as some of the finest examples of the Trappist art of brewing. I’m looking forward to tracking the development of the newest member of the brewing monks.
Availability: The Netherlands and Belgium.
8% ABV
Note: Best 5/11/15 (November 5, 2015).
Special thanks go to my beer trading & beer blog friend in Belgium, Belgian Beer Geek, for sending this to me!
15 thoughts on “Zundert Trappist Ale”
Thanks for the report. I’ve been waiting for a review of their brew.
I’ll be curious to see how long before they’re being imported.
Chai in the aroma got me! This sounds like an interesting beer to try. Thanks for sharing 🙂
It is interesting! I’m hoping it makes it officially to the US soon.
Me too! 🙂 if not, I need to start a list if beers soon since I’m going over to Europe later in the year
When are you going? And where? That could be a scary long list!
On top of everything else this sounds exciting as it does not sound like your typical Trappist Ale.
Very true, the last 3 new Trappist breweries have consciously tried to create a new beer instead of sticking to the typical “abbey” styles. It’s an exciting time!
Awesome. Glad to hear. Now we just need them to distribute to US Canada
Yeah. Zundert still hasn’t announced a US importer. Spencer has announced they’ll just keep it local for a while. Do you guys get the Stift Engelzell up there? They’ve been in the use for a while now.
I am not sure. I will have to do a little digging online and in store.