On a crisp and sunny fall Saturday, nearly twenty MIT alumni, students and friends gathered in Spencer Massachusetts to tour the Spencer Brewery. The brewery was designed by Li Lian Tan, (M.Arch ’00) principal of LLT Architects in New York. Opened in 2014, it is one of only ten Trappist breweries in the world and the first outside Europe, run and operated by Trappist monks.
The tour of the award winning, state-of-the-art facility was led by Brother Adam of St. Joseph's Abbey who also gave an historical overview of the Abbey. The group heard insight into the design and construction process from Li Lian, followed by the exclusive private tour of the brewery, which is not open to the public.
The walk of the building traced the brewing process from concept to lab passing by tall tanks, stainless steel piping, and on to the bottling of these precious ales.
A sampling of five beers (Trappist IPA, Festive Lager, Imperial Stout, Holiday and Monks’ Reserve Ales) along with light fare in the tasting room rounded out the wonderful afternoon.