As promised, we launch Rude Date's tour. Image captured the last time he was there...
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Abbaye d'Orval, Orval, n°1, B-6823 Villers-devant-Orval, Belgium
tel [32] 61 31 10 60
Orval was my first experience with a Trappist ale. My first Orval was while working (ok, I was unpaid entertainment in the one decent pub at Old Faithful) in Yellowstone National Park summer of 1985. Over the ensuing 2-1/2 decades, I had Orval whenever I found it on a beer list – and it was more readily available than I would have expected during those years. Later, during a working visit to Luxembourg in 2009 or 10, one of my first stops was the Orval abbey / brewery – about 30 minutes from my location on the north side of Lux. Beer was as I had remembered: malty, high yeast profile, not high on the IBU scale. Very drinkable (I bought a case to take back with me to my hotel). Later travels proved that Orval is one of the craft Belgian beers that is most readily accessible through much of Europe.
My best Orval experience was at the Winking Lizard in Peninsula, OH – deep in the middle of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. June is Belgian month at the ‘Lizard, and they not only offered Orval on tap – a rarity in the US – but a cheeseburger featuring the almost-as-famous Orval cheese. A wonderful meal & beverage, just off the Tow Path – and this brought the national park theme full circle for me!
tel [32] 61 31 10 60
Orval was my first experience with a Trappist ale. My first Orval was while working (ok, I was unpaid entertainment in the one decent pub at Old Faithful) in Yellowstone National Park summer of 1985. Over the ensuing 2-1/2 decades, I had Orval whenever I found it on a beer list – and it was more readily available than I would have expected during those years. Later, during a working visit to Luxembourg in 2009 or 10, one of my first stops was the Orval abbey / brewery – about 30 minutes from my location on the north side of Lux. Beer was as I had remembered: malty, high yeast profile, not high on the IBU scale. Very drinkable (I bought a case to take back with me to my hotel). Later travels proved that Orval is one of the craft Belgian beers that is most readily accessible through much of Europe.
My best Orval experience was at the Winking Lizard in Peninsula, OH – deep in the middle of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. June is Belgian month at the ‘Lizard, and they not only offered Orval on tap – a rarity in the US – but a cheeseburger featuring the almost-as-famous Orval cheese. A wonderful meal & beverage, just off the Tow Path – and this brought the national park theme full circle for me!
- Rude Dante review
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