The Abbey of Orval is located near Florenville, Belgium in the provence of Luxembourg. The present brewery was completed in 1929, at which time the skittle (pin)-shaped bottle and Orval chalice were introduced. (Brewery, bottle, and chalice were all designed by architect Henry Vaes.) In the middle ages, Orval was famous for producing its iron decoration as well as beer. The abbey was gutted by fire in 1252 & repaired, then was destroyed during the French Revolution.
Sunset-orange color; a fruity and slightly acidic bouquet, firm body, profound hop bitterness, and long, dry finish. Orval Trappist Ale is bottled with Brettanomyces, a yeast strain that leads to superb dry complexity and age-worthiness.