A dramatic fire engulfed part of the abbey of Notre Dame de Saint Remy-Rochefort on Dec. 29, 2010, as the monks were enjoying their dinner. None of the Trappist monks was injured and no beer was damaged. The main part of the brewery and the library were saved. The fire was started in a shed housing a generator that was being used during a power outage caused by heavy snow in the region. The good news is that the damage, while very intense as seen in this photo, was limited and the brewery is expected to resume production soon.
In other good news, the
Lonely Monks Trappist Tour Beer Tour
of Belgium is still set to go Oct. 15-24, 2011, and we plan to include Rochefort. Visit
for details.