CityLife

Le Trappiste

Le Trappiste

Le Trappiste
Altrincham
October 2010

Overall: 5/5

This week, the quest for a quality boozer saw CityLife ditch the cocktails in favour of Belgium beers and travel south to Altrincham’s new and improved Le Trappiste.

It has the north west’s largest selection of Belgium beers (156) and sells all 19 made by the world’s seven Trappist Monastries where monks brew their own beer under strict controls.

Le Trappiste stocks 175 different beers in total, including Belgium’s special Lambic, Geuze and Trappist styles, several from the Bollington Brewing Company, as well as traditional ciders, perry and fine wines.

A lease-related landlord dispute at its former Greenwood Street home saw operator Martin Matthews reopen the bar down the road.

It’s now a small, civilised one-up, one-down venue that’s brightly lit, with wooden floors and tables, red walls and authentic features like the 200-year-old oak pew ends, brewery plaques and Belgium nick-nacks.

As well as being a fireman, new father and running the Altrincham Bottle & Cask beer festival on August Bank Holiday, Matthews completely overhauled the empty retail unit this summer to get the new Trappiste ready for business.

We call him superman, but the monks at Abbey Notre-Dame d’Orval have named him Ambassadeur d’Orval for 2010; meaning Trappiste has become the only establishment in the north west to meet the strict criteria of ‘presence, service and creativity’ set by the Trappist Order of Monks.

Beer-connoiseurs of Manchester, all hail to the holy grail.

18 Shaws Road, Altrincham, WA14 1QU, (0161 941 1981).