Pilgrimage to St Sixtus

Last weekend I made a pilgrimage to the very northwestern tip of Belgium to the remote hamlet of Westvleteren and the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus. The journey took about 4 hours each way. A train from Brussels to Popering (just beyond Ypres) and then a "Belbus" (a bookable bus) from there to the bus stop just outside the Abbey. We weren't allowed into the abbey - it is a closed order and they don't let people in - so why did I and 9 other hash buddies go all that way?

Beer of course!

"The best beer in the world" to be precise. The Trappist monks brew 3 beers there when they are not praying.

* Westvleteren Blonde (green cap), 5.8% ABV
* Westvleteren 8 (blue cap) (formerly Extra), 8% ABV.
* Westvleteren 12 (yellow cap) (formerly Abt), 10.2% ABV.


It was a true pilgrimage for me as although I had tasted each of them before it was a privilige to go to the only place where the beer is made and officially sold.

Unfortunately for us there was no beer to take away for sale - the monks only brew when they feel like it as the abbot said "We are no brewers. We are monks. We brew beer to be able to afford being monks." Fortunately the very large and modern visitors centre across the road was open and had an ample supply of all three beers for consumption on site.

We had a brilliant time (well most of us - poor Satan's L'ill Helper was struck down by a sudden bout of food poisoning) trying repeatedly all three beers.

We started with the deep dark Westvleteren 12 which positively exploded with taste on the tongue and keep exploding and changing like a very spectacular firework display for a good two or three minutes after swallowing the almost black nectar. It was absolutely fabulous - rich chocolatey, tarry, nutty, burnt caramel, hoppy wonderful! Mind you by the end of the first glass my taste buds were almost completely overloaded. It was like going to hear a wonderful symphony orchestra play and being in the front row. The taste was almost overwhelming.

The Westvleteren 8 was almost a relief after the 12. It was far more drinkable and easier on the palate. You could easily want a second one after finishing your first glass (which is what I did).

The Blonde 'little sister' of the other two beers was almost a disappointment - it was a perfectly respectable blond beer but not a patch on the other two and there are probably quite a few other blonde belgian beers that would give it a run for its money. No, the stars of the show were the 12 and the 8 - we all agreed and just to make sure had more of each.

By the time it came to go and get the bus things were pretty blurry - looking at my photos (see my photos on Fotki ) a day or two later brought quite a few forgotten incidents on the journey home flooding back.



Just to make absolutely certain that my head would hurt for days afterwards some of us went for something to eat at a Chinese restaurant (the Blue Lotus) back in Brussels and then did what seemed eminently sensible at the time but remarkably stupid now - we went and sat on a balcony and between 6 of us polished off a whole bottle of Scotch - ouch!