Spencer Brewery Becomes The First American Trappist Brewery

On December 10, 2013, Spencer Trappist Ale from Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, was awarded the Authentic Trappist Product designation. The recognition made Spencer Brewery the first Trappist brewery in the United States and the first official Trappist brewery outside Europe. Spencer entered the Trappist beer world during the American craft-beer boom, but it followed the same monastic production model as the older European Trappist breweries. The beer was brewed at the abbey under monastic supervision, and the brewery was intended to support the monks’ community and its work. Spencer’s recognition showed that Trappist beer was defined by monastic governance and production criteria rather than by geography alone.