title_body: Why are there so few "real" trappists and why are six from them from belgium
upvoted_answer: The Trappists are members of a Roman Catholic religious order. Trappists follow a rule of St. Benedict stating that they should "live by the work of their hands", which means many Trappist monasteries sell goods for income. The order has no particular prohibition against alcohol, so producing beer is an entirely reasonable profession for the monks.
  
  The order is centuries old, and originated in France. However, many of the French breweries were destroyed during the French revolution (and later, the world wars). Fortunately for us today, the monasteries in the beer-loving Belgium survived (or in cases like that of the Rochefort Abbey, were restored).
  
  Today, the "Authentic Trappist Product" logo, which defines a "real" Trappist beer, is owned by the International Trappist Association, an organization founded in 1997. The founding members include six abbeys from Belgium, one from the Netherlands, and one from Germany (which doesn't produce beer). It is only in very recent years that the ITA has expanded to recognize breweries aside from the original 7, the first "new" one being Stift Engelszell from Austria in 2012.
  
  As the craft beer revolution pushes forward, I'd say we're likely to see more monasteries start their own beer production and apply for the logo. But right now, it's still mostly the original Belgians.