The truth: MOSTLY TRUE. Trappist monks are for real, and they do indeed make beer (and have been since the seventeenth century). All Trappist beers fit within the Belgian style — the kind of beer with enough alcohol to make you think that weird monk haircut is a good idea. To be clear, however, just because you buy a Trappist beer doesn't mean you are buying something with a long history. There are currently seven Trappist monasteries authorized to use the Trappist name. The oldest, Westmalle, was founded in 1836; the newest, Achel, was founded in 1998. And until recently, anyone with a shady marketing degree could slap the term "Trappist" on their beer (in a move taken from all those California winemakers who labeled their wine "Burgundy"). The monks sued in 1962 and now retain exclusive rights to the name.
But, and sorry to ruin the image, the monks themselves don’t necessarily make the beer. Orval — another one of the seven — has 32 secular workers. Trappist implies that the beer was made "under control" of the monks, but it doesn’t mean guys who look like Friar Tuck are tending some ancient brewing equipment.
