#14 - Abbaye de Malonne Blonde
Size: 330 ml
ABV: 6.3%
Malonne is a small village in Namur, where the Abbey Notre-Dame de Malonne once sat. The abbey was built in the 7th Century by an Anglo-Saxon monk named Saint Berthuin. The Abbey was the centre-piece of the heavily forested local area, and the village grew up around it. The Abbey has long been dissolved, but the people of Malonne still celebrate the memory of the Irish monk.
Every year villagers carry a shrine throughout Malonne, which is offered to everybody to touch to bring good luck throughout the year. Inside this silver and gold shrine are the bones of St Berthuin. Nice !
The beer itself is elaborately brewed with natural ingredients according to monastery traditions including Bavarian hops. It all started well with a good typical blonde smell, and a buoyant head, but it fast faded – ending watery and distinctly unmemorable. There is little substance to the beer and even if this was to bring me good luck for a year I definitely wouldn’t touch it again!
(Post-Script) – I did later touch the Abbaye de Malonne Brune (#92) and to be fair it did little to lift the reputation.
