Beer evolves, but slowly. Brewers make changes to their beer; they react to changing circumstances and shifting ingredient availability. It seems to be in the nature of brewers to tinker, tweak, temper, and try. At the same time, brewers value order and promote a sense of stability and system. They enjoy process, pattern, progression, and perfection. Over time, this push-pull dichotomy leads to steady but inevitable changes in the beers of the world.
Sometimes, though, evolution gets a helping hand thanks to a change of scenery. Geography is the great jump-start in beer evolution. When a style travels great distances, it is forced to adapt to a new climate, new conditions, new ingredients, and even new microbiota.
It’s with this in mind that we consider the evolution of Trappist beers in the New World. Trappist breweries in Europe have found their way across the Atlantic, but that’s not the whole story: Even if we didn’t have Trappist monasteries here, we would still have craft breweries producing beers in the style of Trappist monasteries. It’s time to examine the (not nearly as hidebound as you think) origins and traditions of Trappist breweries and how the American craft-beer movement has engaged with and developed Trappist styles—and, interestingly, how American craft brewers are also keeping some Trappist brewing traditions alive.