About a month ago I found out about Belgian Shop, an online shop specializing in Belgian products. They sell beer from all Trappist breweries, including Brouwerij Westvleteren, the brewery associated with the Abbey of Saint Sixtus. The Westvleteren beers are the hardest Trappist beers to obtain since they are only sold at the Abbey. Individual buyers must promise not to resell the beer. It seems that Belgian Shop violates this agreement and these beers are grey market.
Westvleteren produces three beers: Trappist Westvleteren Blonde (Green Cap), Trappist Westvleteren 8 (Blue Cap) and Trappist Westvleteren 12 (Yellow Cap). Of the three, 12 is the hardest to obtain. This is reflected by the fact that Belgian Shop was out of stock when I ordered, and has been every time I've checked since.
I ordered a bottle of Blonde, a bottle of 8 and a Westvleteren chalice on March 25th. They arrived today. I'm looking forward to giving them a try.
Labels: Belgian Pale Ale, Dubbel, Quadrupel
