Koningshoeven Abbey & La Trappe Brewery

The only Dutch Trappist brewery, founded by monks in 1884

Koningshoeven Abbey lies in Berkel-Enschot on the eastern edge of Tilburg, founded in 1881 by Trappist monks from France. The monks started brewing beer in 1884, and La Trappe is today the only Dutch Trappist brewery and one of the largest in the world. You can visit the abbey grounds and the visitor centre, taste the full range of beers, and get a look at the brewing operation.

The range runs from a blonde Witte and a hoppy Puur to the heavier Quadrupel and the barrel-aged Isid'Or. The abbey shop also sells the monks' own cheese and other products. The grounds are quiet, green, and well worth a half-afternoon if you are cycling east from Tilburg — the abbey is on a good bike route through the flat Brabant countryside.

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La Trappe is one of fewer than fifteen certified Authentic Trappist Products beers in the world. The Trappist label is controlled by the International Trappist Association and can only be used for beer brewed within the walls of a Trappist abbey, under direct supervision of the monks. When the Abbey of Koningshoeven lost its Trappist certification briefly in 1999 over commercialisation concerns, the monks restructured the operation and regained it in 2005.

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