Trappist Ale

Most exciting, however, is the first American Trappist brewery, Spencer Trappist, from St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA. (I clarify, however, that this is the first American Trappist beer in some time, as many American monasteries, including the Trappists, brewed before Prohibition. We can say that it is probably the first commercially sold Trappist beer in America.) They are brewing a Pater (or Father) beer, a style the monks usually reserve for their own consumption. The Abbey website describes the beer as follows:

Our recipe was inspired by the traditional refectory ales known as patersbier (“fathers’ beer” in Flemish) in Belgium. These sessionable beers are brewed by the monks for their dinner table and are typically only available at the monastery. Spencer is a full-bodied, golden-hued ale with fruity accents, a dry finish and light hop bitterness. The beer is unfiltered and unpasteurized, preserving live yeast that naturally carbonates the beer in the bottle and keg and contributes to the beer flavor and aroma.