Anne-Françoise Pypaert of Orval, the First Woman to Lead a Trappist Brewery

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By Chuck Cook

Things have changed a great deal in a world dominated mostly by men, as Trappist abbey breweries have been over the past few decades.

A significant number of women work in these sacred places, in the laboratory, in marketing and above all in quality control.

Their prominence in quality control may be due to the widespread belief, in Belgium and elsewhere, that women have a more sensitive and developed sense of smell and taste than men, which would make them better suited to this kind of work.

An Heir in Her Own Right

At the top of the organizational chart, however, no woman had ever been in charge as brewmaster at any Trappist brewery.

That remained true until October 2013, when Jean-Marie Rock, the celebrated brewmaster of Brasserie d’Orval at l’Abbaye Notre Dame d’Orval, retired.

By then, though, his successor had already been named a few months earlier. She was Anne-Françoise Pypaert, quality control manager since 1995 and second in command after Jean-Marie.

In fact, Anne-Françoise was the only woman working at Orval when she was first hired in late 1992.

In 2014, when the original interview was published, there were eight women in all, one in the laboratory, one in research and development, four in the administrative office, one at the cheese factory and one as brewmaster. Eight out of a total of 37 workers.

Passionate About Beer

Asked whether she had ever considered brewing as a career when she began studying biochemistry in the late 1980s, Anne-Françoise replies that she did not think it was possible, since brewing was a very male-dominated world at the time.

However, after a few years, while I was still studying for my degree, I started to think it might be possible to find a job at a brewery, because things were changing back then. So I focused on applying to breweries, and I was hired here.

She has never worked anywhere else since graduating from university, which is quite remarkable these days.

Then again, perhaps not so remarkable, considering that Trappist breweries are known as good places to work, with generous pay and benefits. The Trappist monks look after their employees.

Surprisingly, Anne-Françoise only tasted Orval beer for the first time a couple of days before her first interview at the brewery, something she recalls with a smile.

I liked it right from the start, because I have always been a beer lover. I tell everyone that women enjoy Orval and other bitter beers too. I like to fight the perception that women only like sweet beers.

Training and Responsibilities at Orval

Anne-Françoise studied at the Institut Meurice in Brussels, which is now part of the Haute École Lucia de Brouckère.

However, it was more than twenty years of on-the-job training with Jean-Marie Rock that shaped her brewing talents.

Obviously I’m not Jean-Marie. While the method of production is nearly the same, as he was my mentor, we have very different management styles.

Pride and Recognition

How does it feel to be the first female brewmaster at a Trappist brewery? Are you proud of that achievement? Anne-Françoise’s answer is brief.

Yes, I am proud, sure. I am very happy.

As if all that were not impressive enough, Anne-Françoise was also production manager of Orval’s cheese factory.

In 2014, Orval made three cheeses, all based on the Port Salut style, a young one, an aged one and one washed with Orval beer.

At the time, the cheeses were only sold in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

Orval Under Her Leadership

Ten years after taking over, Anne-Françoise was still in charge of brewing. In November 2023, Hop Culture introduced her as Orval’s brewmaster, a position she had held for more than a decade (Hop Culture, 2023).

During that period the brewery changed scale. It grew from 32,000 hectoliters in 2000 to around 80,000, and opened a new fermentation hall and a bottling line that fills 40,000 bottles per hour, a project that took five years to complete.

Today the abbey itself puts its output at 25 million bottles a year, more than 88% of them destined for the Belgian market (Brasserie d’Orval, 2026).

The Orval recipe has barely changed in nine decades. One of the few adjustments made under her leadership was extending fermentation from five to six days.

Orval Vert, the 4.5% beer brewed for the monks and served only at the abbey, was also revised when Orval’s restaurant was rebuilt, with new dry hopping using Strisselspalt and Mosaic.

For anyone trying the beer she oversees for the first time, her advice is straightforward.

Your first Orval is very difficult. You have to taste the second or third.

In 2016 her name crossed the Atlantic with Ann-Françoise, a 9.5% Belgian strong dark ale brewed with spruce tips, grains of paradise and Strisselspalt hops, made by New Belgium in collaboration with Orval (Beer Street Journal, 2016).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Who is Anne-Françoise Pypaert?

She is a Belgian biochemist who in October 2013 became the first woman to lead a Trappist brewery as brewmaster, at Brasserie d’Orval. She joined Orval in late 1992, when she was the only woman on the staff, and served as quality control manager from 1995 until she succeeded Jean-Marie Rock.

2. Is she still Orval’s brewmaster?

The most recent source that identifies her in the role is a Hop Culture feature from November 2023, which introduced her as Orval’s brewmaster for more than a decade. The abbey’s official website does not publish the names of its current brewmasters.

3. Do the monks of Orval brew the beer?

No. Brasserie d’Orval was founded in 1931 to fund the rebuilding of the abbey and hired lay workers from the outset, starting with its first brewmaster, the Bavarian Martin Pappenheimer. The monastic community guides the brewery’s activity and devotes its income to social causes and to the upkeep of the buildings, which are conditions of the Authentic Trappist Product label.

4. What is Orval Vert?

It is a 4.5% ABV version that the brewery makes for the monks, compared with the 6.2% of the Orval sold around the world. It is served on draft only at the abbey itself and is bottled for those who come to Orval on retreat.

5. How much beer does Orval produce?

According to the abbey itself, 25 million bottles a year in 2026, more than 88% of which are sold in Belgium. In 2000 it produced 32,000 hectoliters, a figure Hop Culture put at around 80,000 in 2023.

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