How an unremarkable country came to dominate the world with the remarkable, almost a national religion, arguable the best beer in the world.
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THE Trappist Abbey of St Sixtus of Westvleteren has little to offer those wishing to gawp at ecclesiastical architecture.
I +1'd that before I even read it…
I +1'd that before I even read it…
Monastic brewers were disinclined or prevented from using [hops] – the church deemed hops the “fruit of the devil”. One explanation for this attitude might be the monopolies granted to bishops over the gruyt (as the mixture of herbs and spices was known) that went into beer. An intense medieval PR campaign was waged in the battle between gruyt and secular hops. Wow!
Monastic brewers were disinclined or prevented from using [hops] – the church deemed hops the “fruit of the devil”. One explanation for this attitude might be the monopolies granted to bishops over the gruyt (as the mixture of herbs and spices was known) that went into beer. An intense medieval PR campaign was waged in the battle between gruyt and secular hops. Wow!