Abbey beer

Abbey beers were once brewed in monestaries until commercial breweries took over operations. Although there is no apparent strict definition of an abbey beer, we like to think of them as beers brewed using the original recipe of the monestary. In addition, the brewery should have some direct contact with the monestary and not be soley a commercial venture. When this practice becomes apparent, we classify those beers differently. For example, Afflighem was once an abbey beer until it was taken over by Heineken...the recipe has possibly been changed (many people feel this way) to appease the masses..and therefore we no longer consider this an abbey beer.