driving to westvleteren?

after deciding to spend the morning ringing the famous "beer line" i finally got through after an odd half hour getting every type of busy signal, instant hangup, odd not-possible-to-connect message, etc. i gave them a license plate number and the nice flemish man (if netherlands dutch is broken glass, flemish dutch is soft pillows) gave me an appointment next week to pick up some westvleteren beer. i have had their beer, and i love it, but then i also really love rochefort 10, and i can get that in my local shop for a short walk and very reasonable price. i can get westy8/12 at the local beer bar if i want to pay €20-25 a bottle, which i don't. am i really going to borrow a car and drive 3 hours there and 3 back for the funny experience of going to the weirdest beer monks in europe, and sharing a case of delicious beers?





road trip!

there it is. smack in the middle of nowhere but a few canadian wwII cemeteries. all you see is walls and a mcdonalds style drive through

pull into the little line of cars, slowly putt around this little horseshoe driveway, get you license plate checked my a guy with a clipboard on wheels, no questions asked, they lump two crates in the back of your car and write you a little ticket (# of crates, # of returns) and you are off to the mcdonalds window to pay the smiling little guy, 102 euros for 2 crates with glass and crate deposits. plus a lot of time driving. had to do it once though

I've had their beer - it's a great treat. For a while I was buying it from someone local who was sending the bottles to me in the USA by airmail.

THE GOODS! also you can get another 6 pack in the restaurant shop, one per person, so bring your glasses + fake moustache
that's a bit more pricey, 20eu, and why not drop another another 16eu for a 4 pack of chalices

Looks good. I can't wait to do that when I finally get to Germany. I am going to try and do it at least one for two cases of the 12.

dirty- check the website the day before you want to book, the beer phone open hours seem to shift around. have your car license plate number handy. under the 'reserve by phone' column you can see the hours that it's open. then just hammer it, keep calling over and over as soon as the time window opens. they seem to be fairly flexible on what day you reserve, again on the website you can see which collection time slots still have availability. remember it's near dunkirk, france so clear on the other side of belgium from germany, but then again it's belgium not ukraine.

I'll be going in June, can't wait!

Thanks for the pics, it sure looks like you had fun.

forgot to add the best part!!

dinnerstick said:

forgot to add the best part!!

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Lucky. I would have a 5.5 hour drive. I'm still going to try, though. Maybe this spring or summer.

Enjoy

Does anyone know how far out you can get an appointment? Online, they only show 2 weeks.

I went there recently, but wasn't able to reserve a crate. However, I did buy a couple sixers from the restaurant. They were selling 2 per person and conveniently the wife was with me so I was able to double up. It was €20 per 6, so more expensive than by the case via the beer phone.

The stack of boxes was as tall as me when I got there, but during the hour I sat there eating lunch and drinking beer it dwindled down to half that. I recommend getting there early if you're hoping to buy from the restaurant.

Even if they sell out you can still order a beer from the restaurant and drink it there.

i'm not sure how far in advance you can book. but you could always turn it into a brewery trip to brussels, wallonia, ardennes etc., or a trip to champagne, or normandy for cider... or a weekend in brugge, gent, antwerp... next time i go i'm going to incorporate it into a weekend rather than just bust it there and back

dinnerstick said:

i'm not sure how far in advance you can book. but you could always turn it into a brewery trip to brussels, wallonia, ardennes etc., or a trip to champagne, or normandy for cider... or a weekend in brugge, gent, antwerp... next time i go i'm going to incorporate it into a weekend rather than just bust it there and back

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I would love to do something like that, but with 3 dogs, it is more expensive to leave them with someone than the trip. I have holiday in April so maybe I can get over there then.

Question about Car licenses when calling the "beer line":
I don't have a car and if I rent one to get there I obviously wouldn't know the license plate of the rental.
Can I still leave my name and info without giving them an actual license plate number?

Andrikos said:

Question about Car licenses when calling the "beer line":
I don't have a car and if I rent one to get there I obviously wouldn't know the license plate of the rental.
Can I still leave my name and info without giving them an actual license plate number?

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when i was there, there were a few (i saw 2) people walking up, and there's sign for walkers directing them into the queue. these guys were packing two crates of bottles into touristy backpacks and camera bags and then shuffling off like atlas with the world on his shoulders. i guess they made it into the nearby field and then commenced boozing! but that must mean that you can get a slot for walk-up, rent a car, park in the normal parking lot. but indeed there is no information to that effect on the website so i guess you have to phone them. good luck!