Pictures of Westvleteren

Westvleteren

Belgium Trip, Day 5 - Part I: Westvleteren

Sleep was fitful at best in the Polo. It was cramped and it was quite cold in the Ardennes that night. All the above being the case ensured that we were up, packed and checked out just before daylight and on the road to the Westvleteren Abbey in western Flanders.

Now, if you're reading this blog you already know that Westvleteren Abbey has quite a mystique surrounding it due to the ales that the abbey produces. They are one of 6 Trappist breweries in Belgium but are the only one that does not officially distribute their beers. They sell cases at the brewery by appointment but when you find them elsewhere it is strictly black market and VERY expensive. I have never thought that buying bottles for $20 each was really worth it but I was certainly going to make a special point to visit their cafe to try these legendary beers for myself. The timing of my trip was bad and I was unable to schedule a time to buy some beer at the abbey but I had heard that they sometimes sell mixed six-packs in the cafe store.

We arrived at the abbey cafe, In De Vrede, just after the opening time of 10:00. I headed in and checked the cafe shop...no beer available for sale. Bummer. But I couldn't be too disappointed. How many mornings do you have the opportunity for some fresh Westvleteren ales?

I ordered some pate and a Westvleteren Blonde, Dave decided to start with the Westvleteren 12 and work his way down. The blonde was crisp, fruity and hoppy. The least hyped of the Westvleteren ales, the blonde did not disappoint at all. This is not a beer built for aging (only 5.8%, forward hop character) so maybe it doesn't arrive across the Atlantic in the best shape. Fresh however, it is stunningly good.

I continued with the pate and we ordered a couple Westvleteren 8's. The 8 is a dark brown ale, a Trappist dubbel that is 8% ABV. Lots of earthy, bready flavors interlaced with all kinds of malty, dark fruit sweetness. There is a hint of alcohol but it disguises its strength for the most part and surprisingly has a fair amount of bitter, herbal hops in the finish. Excellent beer. Well done.

I ordered a hommelpaptaart (quite literally, a "hop-tart") and the Westvleteren 12. The Westvleteren 12 has the reputation of being the best beer in the world. It was time to find out. The 12 weighs in at 10.8% and whatever I said about the 8, the 12 is all that and more. It's very fruity with aromas of black currant and ripe plum. It fills the mouth with a rich maltiness and lots more of that dark fruit. The alcohol is quite pronounced and maybe a little hot. This beer was very young. Again, even with the big malt profile, there are some hops detectable in the finish. Really outstanding.

(As an aside, I thought I would address the notion of these beers as "the best in the world". They are all top-notch beer, there is no doubt about it. But if I were to compare the 12 against similar beers, would I say that is is head and shoulders above Rochefort 10 or St. Bernardus Abt 12? No. They are all so close in quality that it you would be hard pressed to say which is the "best". It was surely worth the trip to the cafe and I would like to buy some to take away on my next trip to Belgium. But I don't think I will be paying exorbitant black market prices to get them. The relative difference in taste is certainly no worth the enormous difference in price.)

After a couple hours and three quite strong ales, we decided to stroll around ground around the abbey to make sure we were OK to drive. There is a trail system around the countryside near the abbey so we went out for a walk for about an hour or so. It was quite a beautiful day and more pictures of that walk will follow. About 1:00 PM, we got back to the car and started toward Brugge.

If you have the opportunity, a visit to In De Vrede is well worth the trip. Three world-class beers, some fairly good food and a picturesque abbey in the Flanders countryside.

In De Vrede

Belgium Trip, Day 3: Still More Antwerp

Sunday we slept in a bit due to jet lag, grabbed some complementary breakfast and headed back downtown again. It had been drizzling on and off since Friday but it was still a manageable level of rainfall to handle while travelling by foot. Sunday…it really started to rain.We hit some of the Sunday morning flea markets and then ducked into the nearby Oud Arsenaal for some beers and some shelter. The Oud Arsenaal has been in business since 1924 and, like Quentin Mastijs, looks like very little has changed in the last 84 years. We grabbed some bench seating and checked out the menu. Not an enormous beer list but an impressively chosen one. But I ordered us bollekes of De Konninck to get started since Dave hadn’t had any yet. After that warm up, we delved deeper.

One of my objects during this trip was to get some Faro. This bar had Boon “Faro Pertotale” which was a faro mad eform half old lambic, half young lambic and sweetened with candy sugar. A true rarity, so I ordered a glass. Dave noticed that Rodenbach was the beer of the month and had never had it. Finding out that it was to be served with the traditional side of shrimp for no extra charge only sealed the decision.

The faro was tart and exhibited some light brett funk which was all softened a bit from the added sugar. The beer was quite still, nearly uncarbonated but offered a cider-like drinkability with a touch of finishing dryness. It was really good. The Rodenbach was Rodenbach, tart and acidic but refreshing and smooth at the same time.

And now a word about the privacy of Belgian toilets, especially in pubs and cafes. For men, there is little. Many times, the urinals are in plain site of either A) the women passing nearby to use the toilet or B) the other patrons sitting out in the bar. This is not to say that there is not at least partial obstruction but there are certainly many places where the doors to the WC remain wide open and the urinals are only partially obscured by the angle of the wall or a small half-door. It’s hard to explain but it’s certainly not the privacy of American standards!

Oud Arsenaal took this to extremes. The toilet was basically unisex. The toilets themselves are in tiny separate rooms within the larger restroom area, two are marked for ladies, one for men. But to get to the toilets what do you have to do? That’s right, walk right past the row of urinals! And that’s just what happened to me while I was downloading some urine. Three ladies walked right by toward the toilet. Startling wasn’t the word.

However, Oud Arsenaal was an inviting and cozy place, our server was quite helpful and friendly and outside of Kulminator, it may have been my favorite pub in Antwerp.

After a beer or three, the rain had let up so we headed further in toward the old city. Ducking in and out of shops, the rain had really started to soak us. So we ducked into a bar right next to the Cathedral called the Elfde Gebod (The Eleventh Commandment). This pub is filled with religious statues giving it the feel of an altar or the storage room for the nearby Cathedral. The roaring fireplace helped to take the chill out of our bones but we were looking for something to warm us from the inside too.

I ordered a Rochefort 10, a Trappist quadrupel that weighs in at 11% ABV. Boozy but lovely, it's a nice warmer on a dreary rainy day. Dave got another Trappist ale, the Westmalle Dubbel on draft.

Our server was a good guy named Kurt. He noticed what we were drinking and pointed out that St. Bernardus Tripel was available on draft. He brought us out a sample of the tripel so we could try it. That's a rarity where I live so I ordered the tripel next. Dave got the La Trappe Quadrupel, a beer from the Koningshoeven Trappist monastery in the Netherlands. Big malty beer at 10% alcohol.

After feeling considerably toasty, we thanked Kurt, he gave us his card for a new business venture called Belgium in a Box and we headed back out into the weather. I suggested that Dave needed to see Quentin Matsys so we took the three block walk.

Quentin Matsys was quite crowded this time around so we grabbed a couple seats at the bar. I ordered a De Koninck Tripel while Dave continued the high octane trip with a Kasteel Blond. Both were very good. Next we ordered a Gordon Finest Scotch Ale, mostly because we saw the amazing thistle glasses they served them in. But the ale was very good as well and gave us a rare chance to try a Belgian brewed Scotch ale.

We decided to move on and find some food since it was late afternoon but found we were not in any mood to keep fighting the rain. So we headed back to the hostel. On the way back I spotted a frituur so I doubled back and grabbed a couple orders of frites and brought them back to our room. We had frites and some Chimay Grand Cru cheese on crackers, washed it down with some Timmerman's Fruits de la Foret and some Lindemans Faro.

Antwerp had literally rained on our parade on Sunday but we were still able to get to three great pubs and make the best of a bad situation back at the room. We just tried our best to dry out our clothes, pack our bags and get ready for our drive out to Wallonie the next morning.

Coaster: Trappistes Rochefort

I got this coaster at the Elfde Gebod (The Eleventh Commandment). I enjoyed a Rochefort 10 which helped warm me up on a chilly rainy day.

The English translation (roughly): "Beer brewed and tapped by the Fathers. A beer brewed with knowledge is tasted with wisdom."