Who owns LA TRAPPE BEER?

LA TRAPPE BEER is owned by

SWINKELS FAMILY BREWERS

Website

La Trappe beer, also known as de Koningshoeven, was first brewed in 1884 in the Koningshoeven Abbey in Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands. The abbey is a trappist monastery, making La Trappe one of the ten officially recognized Trappist beers. In its early days, de Koningshoeven operated several bars in the area, and also brewed beer under contract for other labels.

The brewery began by making lager style beer. In 1969, the monestary licensed production of the beers to Artois Brewery (makers of Stella Artois), a contract which lasted until 1980. At that point, the monks began making the beer themselves again, and at this point began making ale instead. Soon, they were exporting the beer abroad, and completed a modernization of the brewery in 1989. However, they found the work laborious as the overall population of the monastery aged.

In 1999, the abbey set up a limited liability corporation in collaboration with Bavaria Brewery to have the beer produced on their behalf. This resulted in a lengthy dispute with the International Trappist Association over the right to bear the Trappist name on the logo, since most of the commercialization was done by Bavaria. The ITA claimed that since an outside company was involved, the brewery didn’t quality as a true Trappist brewery. In 2005, the matter was settled, with the abbey agreeing to oversee the production but with most of the rest of the responsibility lying on Bavaria. The beer must continue to be brewed within the walls of the abbey, and there is always a monk supervising the brewing.

In 2018, Bavaria Brewery changed their name to Swinkels Family Breweries. With their help, La Trappe is now the biggest Trappist beer brand, producing about 145,000 hectolitres a year (or about 124,000 US barrels).

Popular Beers by this Brand

• Dubbel Trappist Ale
• Tripel Trappist Ale
• Quadrupel Trappist Ale

Like what we’re doing here? Donate to help keep the site alive!