Work and Prayer
It’s hard to get too excited when a new brewery opens. For one thing, it seems to happen every other week in Portland, and on the other it’s just one more place I have to feel bad for never visiting.
But when it was announced some four years ago that Mount Angel Abbey would be brewing monastic beer in the heart of the Willamette Valley, I was super excited. I’ve been looking to try it ever since. Maybe it’s my latent Catholicism or the renowned Belgian abbey ales, but something about monks making beer appeals to me.
It’s just taken some time for the beer to make it from the planning stages to actual bottle. There’s a reason a monastery like Rochefort has lasted so many centuries, the decision making process is long and contemplative. The Benedictine brothers of Mount Angel don’t rush into anything. Like their Trappist brethren, Benedictine monks are required to utilize the work of their own hands to keep their mission moving.
Some monasteries produce cheese, fudge, fruitcake. Mount Abbey just happens to be located in the center of Oregon hop farming. It’s only natural that the monks would utilize the ingredients they have at hand.
It’s been two years since the first test batches were brewed. From the start, the goal has been to brew something that resembles a Belgian Abbey Ale, but with a local flavor. Of course, none of the monks are expert brewers, so they consulted with some of the local talent in Portland and beyond, and until the abbey can find a place on campus to house their Benedictine Brewery, they’ve contracted the brewing.
This particular bottle of Black Habit, supplied by my gracious father, was brewed at Seven Brides in Silverton. It’s a 7.5% ABV dark ale, Black Habit has a faint scent of Belgian yeast and the forceful carbonation of bottle conditioning. The nose is more subdued than in a traditional dubbel, only hints of banana and clove. Black Habit utilizes more specialty malts than you would expect. It has a nice roasty undertone. The body is quite dry, emphasizing the darker malt flavor. I’d almost say Benedictine has made more of a porter than and abbey ale.
The beer is only available at the abbey, in the St. Sixtus Westvleteren tradition. But new batches are being tested every month it seems, including some new experiments with wild yeast. I’ll definitely be checking in again.