Is it the "best beer in the world"?

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ColoHox

Compulsive Hand Washer
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The monks at St. Sixtus need a new roof, so they have decided to release Westveterlen 12 in the states. My local liquor store is one of three in the state to get the beer. They will have 36 bricks...a 6 pack and 2 glasses for the low price of $85.

I have had my share of trappist beer, even stopping at three different monasteries whilst travelling in Belgium, though this is kind of the mecca of trappists.

So I want to hear what you fine people have to say. Do I go stand in line? Or walk past everyone and buy St. Bernardus Abt 12 for $21 (or Straffe hendrik etc.)?

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/2...re-Belgium-beer-sold-Fort-Collins?odyssey=tab
 
"Best" is relative. But it's pretty damn good if you ask me... and I tend to prefer American beers. I had the wonderful opportunity to buy Westvleteren 12 at cost from a friend oversees a couple years ago. He got them directly from St. Sixtus. It was less than $1.70 per bottle so I bought eight of those... along with four of the Westvleteren 8's, two of the Westvleteren Blonds, and some rare Cantillons, St. Amatus, and Cuvee Delphine as well. Shipping was about $50-ish but it was a sacrifice I was willing to take. You only live once!
 
Here's another article:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/12/12/166987378/a-sign-from-above-needing-new-roof-monks-sell-rare-beer-in-u-s

I don't know. I am usually cranky and suspicious in the morning, but something about this whole thing bugs me. It just seems like a perfect story to generate marketing for their product. Even if you buy the story, the whole "we don't want to be too commercial until we need a new roof, so we will sell small quantities to the US at high prices and then stop as soon as we have our roof" is almost insulting in a way, given the price tag. I love Belgian abbey ales, but I have no qualms buying product from a Belgian brewery that sells a more affordable product.
 
Wow, that's pretty cynical - doubting a group of monks who never interact with the outside world. :)

But yeah, to the OP - it's really good. Dunno if it's the best in the world, but certainly something that if given the chance I think beer nerds should certainly try.

I don't know. I am usually cranky and suspicious in the morning, but something about this whole thing bugs me. It just seems like a perfect story to generate marketing for their product. Even if you buy the story, the whole "we don't want to be too commercial until we need a new roof, so we will sell small quantities to the US at high prices and then stop as soon as we have our roof" is almost insulting in a way, given the price tag. I love Belgian abbey ales, but I have no qualms buying product from a Belgian brewery that sells a more affordable product.
 
Holy cow! St B 12 is $21 for a 750??? I swear that was under $10 early in my drinking career.

And no, Westy XII isn't worth that much, I think it's under 3$ a bottle at the brewery. That being said, if Shelton Bros wasn't Cthulhu incarnate, I'd be blowing the cash on it. I'd probably glue a bunch of rhinestones and junk on that ugly glass for when I want to get monk krunked.
 
"Best" is relative. But it's pretty damn good if you ask me... and I tend to prefer American beers. I had the wonderful opportunity to buy Westvleteren 12 at cost from a friend oversees a couple years ago. He got them directly from St. Sixtus. It was less than $1.70 per bottle so I bought eight of those... along with four of the Westvleteren 8's, two of the Westvleteren Blonds, and some rare Cantillons, St. Amatus, and Cuvee Delphine as well. Shipping was about $50-ish but it was a sacrifice I was willing to take. You only live once!

Yes, personal preference is different. I would rather drink RIS than a sweet Belgian most days. I am jealous of your opportunity to pickup all those beers, are you still friends with him and can we be friends?
 
Here's another article:

I don't know. I am usually cranky and suspicious in the morning, but something about this whole thing bugs me. It just seems like a perfect story to generate marketing for their product. Even if you buy the story, the whole "we don't want to be too commercial until we need a new roof, so we will sell small quantities to the US at high prices and then stop as soon as we have our roof" is almost insulting in a way, given the price tag. I love Belgian abbey ales, but I have no qualms buying product from a Belgian brewery that sells a more affordable product.

Jeesh, have some coffee or something. I don't care why the monks decided to ship some beer to us uncivilized pagan Americans, I would still be interested if they decided they wanted to erect Belgium's only drive-in theater/monastery.

Likely though, I will be purchasing something other than Westy.
 
Holy cow! St B 12 is $21 for a 750??? I swear that was under $10 early in my drinking career.

And no, Westy XII isn't worth that much, I think it's under 3$ a bottle at the brewery. That being said, if Shelton Bros wasn't Cthulhu incarnate, I'd be blowing the cash on it. I'd probably glue a bunch of rhinestones and junk on that ugly glass for when I want to get monk krunked.

I think he' referring to a 4-pack of 33cl. I think it's about $23 for a 4-pack at my local places.
 
Holy cow! St B 12 is $21 for a 750??? I swear that was under $10 early in my drinking career.

And no, Westy XII isn't worth that much, I think it's under 3$ a bottle at the brewery. That being said, if Shelton Bros wasn't Cthulhu incarnate, I'd be blowing the cash on it. I'd probably glue a bunch of rhinestones and junk on that ugly glass for when I want to get monk krunked.

Sorry, its $11. I fat fingered that.

Technically, Westy is $3 at the brewery, plus a flight to belgium ($1000), a rental car to get to the monastery ($100), a charge to change your flight because no one at the monastery answered their beer-line ($75), and a waffle ($10). So for us, this is a screaming deal.
 
Sorry, its $11. I fat fingered that.

Technically, Westy is $3 at the brewery, plus a flight to belgium ($1000), a rental car to get to the monastery ($100), a charge to change your flight because no one at the monastery answered their beer-line ($75), and a waffle ($10). So for us, this is a screaming deal.

If you want to buy a whole crate you would have to buy a car as well, because they demand a registration plate number when you pre order a crate :D

Or try to persuade the rental company to give you the registration plate number of the car (and hold that car so it's available whenever you get a reservation at the monastery).

On topic: Best in the world? Hard to say.. but it's one of the very best beers I have ever had. Me and two friends went there a couple of years ago, and played Rock-paper-scissors on who would be the dedicated driver. I lost :smack:
 
It's only supposed to be sold in 6 packs.

here is a list of retailers:

ALABAMA

Hop City, Birmingham
Piggly Wiggly, Homewood
The Nook, Huntsville

ARIZONA

Total Wine, Gilbert
Total Wine (Arrowhead Gateway), Glendale
Total Wine, Goodyear
Total Wine (Desert Ridge), Phoenix
Total Wine (Camelback Rd), Phoenix
Total Wine, Scottsdale
Total Wine, Tempe
Total Wine (The Corner), Tucson
Total Wine (Park Place Mall), Tucson

CALIFORNIA

Total Wine, Brea
Hi Times Wine Cellar, Costa Mesa
Davis Beer Shoppe, Davis
Holiday Wine Cellar, Escondido
Total Wine, Folsom
Total Wine, Huntington Beach
Total Wine, Laguna Hills
Stearns, Long Beach
Total Wine, Northbridge
Trappist Provisions, Oakland
Bruery Provisions, Orange
Total Wine, Rancho Cuacamonga
Total Wine, Redondo Beach
K&L Wines, Redwood City/Los Angeles
Total Wine, Roseville
Pangaea, Sacramento
Total Wine, Sacramento
Best Damn Bottle Shop, San Diego
Bine & Vine, San Diego
City Beer Store, San Francisco
Healthy Spirits, San Francisco
Ales Unlimited, San Francisco
Total Wine, Tustin
Total Wine, Thousand Oaks
Øl Beercafe, Walnut Creek

COLORADO

Liquor Mart, Boulder
Coaltrain Wine and Spirits, Colorado Springs
Argonaut Liquor, Denver
Wilbur’s Total Beverage, Fort Collins

DELAWARE

Total Wine, Claymont
Total Wine, Milltown

FLORIDA

Total Wine, Boca Raton
Total Wine, Boynton Beach
Total Wine, Clearwater
Total Wine, Fort Lauderdale
Total Wine, Fort Myers
Total Wine, Jasksonville
Total Wine, Miami
Total Wine, North Miami
Total Wine, Naples
Total Wine (Colonial Plaza), Orlando
Total Wine (Millenia Plaza), Orlando
Total Wine, Palm Beach Gardens
Total Wine, Pembroke Pines
Total Wine, Plantation
Total Wine, St. Petersburg
Total Wine, Sarasota
Total Wine, Stuart
Total Wine, Tampa
Total Wine, Village of Wellington

ILLINOIS

Binny’s, Bloomington
Friar Tucks, Bloomington
Binny’s (Downers Grove), Chicago
Binny’s (Marcey), Chicago

INDIANA

Keg Liquors, Clarksville
Crown Liquors, Indianapolis
Village Liquors, West Lafayette

IOWA

Benz Beverage Depot, Cedar Rapids
Royal Mile, Des Moines
Schera’s Algerian American Restaurant, Elkader
John’s Grocery, Iowa City

KENTUCKY

The Party Source, Bellevue (Cincinnati)
Wino’s Depot, Bowling Green
The Beer Trappe, Lexington
Louisville Beer Store, Louisville
Sergio’s World Beers, Louisville
Roof Brothers, Paducah

LOUISIANA

Whole Foods, Baton Rouge
Aquistapace’s Grocery, Covington
Whole Foods (Veterans), Metarie
Stein’s Deli, New Orleans
Whole Foods (Arabella Station), New Orleans

MARYLAND

Corridor Fine Wine, Laurel
Beltway Fine Wine, Towson

MASSACHUSETTS

Craft Beer Cellar, Belmont (Boston)
Provisions, Northampton
Redstone Liquors, Stoneham
Julio’s, Westborough

MINNESOTA

Heritage Liquor, Minneapolis
Andy’s Liquor, Rochester
West Side Liquors, St. Cloud

NEVADA

Total Wine, Henderson
Total Wine, Las Vegas
Total Wine, Reno

NEW YORK

DeCicco’s, Ardsley
DeCicco’s, Brewster
Breukelen Bier Merchants, Brooklyn
Brouwerij Lane, Brooklyn
Beer Street, Brooklyn
Beer Table Pantry, Manhattan
The Cannibal, Manhattan
City Swiggers, Manhattan
Good Beer, Manhattan
New Beer Distributors, Manhattan
Top Hops, Manhattan
Whole Foods Bowery, Manhattan
DeCicco’s, Pelham

NORTH CAROLINA

Total Wine, Cary
Total Wine (Park Towne Village), Charlotte
Total Wine (Grand Promenade Phase II),Charlotte
Total Wine (Promenade on Providence), Charlotte
Total Wine, Durham
Total Wine (Battleground Square), Greensboro
Total Wine (Oakwood Square), Greensboro
Total Wine, Huntersville
Total Wine (Brier Creek), Raleigh
Total Wine (Triangle Plaza), Raleigh
Total Wine (Six Forks Road), Raleigh
Total Wine, Winston-Salem

OHIO

Lizardville, Bedford Heights (Cleveland)
Jungle Jim’s, Cincinnati
Belmont Party Supply, Dayton
Lizardville, Rocky River (Cleveland)
Anderson’s, Maumee (Toledo)
Vintage Estates, Youngstown

OREGON

Corvallis Beer Supply, Corvallis
Market of Choice, Corvallis
Bier Stein, Eugene
Market of Choice, Eugene
16 Tons Beer & Wine, Eugene
Belmont Station, Portland
Beer Monger, Portland
Saraveza, Portland
Hop & Vine, Portland
John’s Market, Portland
Market of Choice, Portland
Market of Choice, West Linn

SOUTH CAROLINA

Total Wine, Charleston
Total Wine, Columbia
Total Wine, Greenville

VERMONT

Hunger Mountain Co-Op, Montpellier
Beverage Warehouse, Winooski (Burlington)
 
Thanks for that list. I know some places received their shipment earlier in the week and may have distributed their allotment already.

Maybe if some are lucky enough to get a pack, we could do a little exchange through PM's on here. If said people are willing to share that is.
 
I agree this is some seriously tasty brew. However, after living in Europe for a few years, I am still having sticker shock every time I walk into the bottle shop. The prices that we pay for equivalent quality beer is outrageous. I think I paid about $3 a bottle over there for the Westvleteren. I am glad that I had the opportunity but SWMBO would kill me if I paid $85 for a six pack...even if it did have a couple of glasses included. Those kits are for sale in Europe for about $15-20 max. They must be flown over on a private plane. I don't pay that much shipping for my Land Rover parts coming from England.
 
Can anyone still get any? If someone could procure me a few bottles, I would certainly pay them a premium. I have some limited run Russian River I would trade.

No one has it around here.
 
Yes, personal preference is different. I would rather drink RIS than a sweet Belgian most days. I am jealous of your opportunity to pickup all those beers, are you still friends with him and can we be friends?

I would rather drink AIPAs, Sours, and RIS most days too. But I can still admit that Westy 12 is the pinnacle of beer perfection. It's a very old, tried-and-true recipe. You can't taste that high alcohol. Very smooth and complex.

The friend I speak of used to trade them like wildfire, at cost, on another beer networking website. He no longer does this though.
 
Can anyone still get any? If someone could procure me a few bottles, I would certainly pay them a premium. I have some limited run Russian River I would trade.

No one has it around here.

Yes, +1. I would split a 6er if someone gets one, help offset that price a little.
 
You have a high likelihood of splitting the brick with a random customer at the liquor store. It seems to be selling like crazy. And this way, you'll save on shipping costs, while making the purchase seem more reasonable at about $43-ish.
 
You have a high likelihood of splitting the brick with a random customer at the liquor store. It seems to be selling like crazy. And this way, you'll save on shipping costs, while making the purchase seem more reasonable at about $43-ish.

All gone in San Diego.

I paid a premium, but i got a six pack. My dad is coming into town and he lives in Puerto Rico and had no chance of getting any.
 
is that a complete list of places that got it to sell? figures my state wouldn't have a single location on the list. If anyone has a bottle or 2 they want to sell, I'd be willing to pay.
 
If you were lucky enough to get one, it comes with two glasses for this very reason. MOST geeks are buying it and splitting the cost with a friend. each guy gets 3 bottles + 1 glass.
 
If you were lucky enough to get one, it comes with two glasses for this very reason. MOST geeks are buying it and splitting the cost with a friend. each guy gets 3 bottles + 1 glass.

So...didn't get any, and no one wanted to share. :(

There were at least 100 people milling around at 7am for the 9am opening of the store selling 36 bricks.
 
I had a friend of mine go by the total wine in DE (he gets off work much earlier than I), but they had completely sold out. 24 bricks total, sold out at opening. Also they apparently had theirs out the day before this post.
I know I'm a little late with this post, but still wanted to say thanks for the heads up anyway.
 
Yep, but this thread has more posts.. ;)

For those of you that missed out on trying this, the Belgium Strong recipe forum has a couple clone posts that turn out very similar... but you get 5 gallons for $65 rather than 6 bottles for $85.

Pretty good return on investment..

Ha yes that forum is exactly where I went after missing the real deal. It's now on the docket for next weekend.
 
Totally lucked into a tasting yesterday. My wife's coworker camped out to get some and generously invited some beer nerds over to split a bottle.

It was honestly one of the more unique beers I've ever had - almost like a glass of port. It certainly deserves recognition as the height of "craft" brewing. Perfectly balanced and so, so smooth. It's everything the style has to offer.

Is it the best beer in the world? Maybe, but it wouldn't be my "everyday" beer even if cost and availability weren't factors. It's just not what I'm looking for on an average Tuesday night.
 
Is it the best beer in the world? Maybe, but it wouldn't be my "everyday" beer even if cost and availability weren't factors. It's just not what I'm looking for on an average Tuesday night.

First of all, what a nice friend. And second, I totally agree that Westy is no everyday beer. If I was drinking that everyday, I would probably have to take up the cloth. Like most I think, I was interested in the rarity and the recipe.
 
There's also the problem that the slots (to purchase a case of the W12) fill up as soon as they are listed, so you have to be quick and lucky. However, I really prefer the 8, and you can get either at the cafe across the street from the monastery. They used to sell gift packs there, too (may still)--a glass and one bottle each of the 6, 8 & 12.
 
I have a brick (6 bottles 2 glasses) which I am willing to sell 475.00 plus shipping and I will ship the glasses separate and insure them for 100.00 so if they break you can have the value of these which they sell for on ebay. I also have some singles which I am willing to sell for 79.00 text me if intrested 216-780-3417

thanks Brian

It's an interesting thing to profit off the modesty of the Trappist brewers that stops them from making their beer commercially available in the first place. Especially against their explicit wishes...

Buyers of the beer receive a receipt with Niet verder verkopen ("Do not resell") printed on it. The abbey is very much against resale of their beer, and it is their wish that the beer is only commercially available at the two official sale points. To this end, any Westvleteren beer which is sold anywhere else in the world is grey market beer, as no wholesalers or pubs are supplied with the beer. The abbey is actively working to eliminate the illicit sales, and generally only agrees to media interviews to spread their message against drinking illicitly sold Westvleteren beer.
 
It's an interesting thing to profit off the modesty of the Trappist brewers that stops them from making their beer commercially available in the first place. Especially against their explicit wishes...

I agree, especially with a 600% mark-up. Doesn't this sale offer violate some terms on the board?
 
I have a brick (6 bottles 2 glasses) which I am willing to sell 475.00 plus shipping and I will ship the glasses separate and insure them for 100.00 so if they break you can have the value of these which they sell for on ebay. I also have some singles which I am willing to sell for 79.00 text me if intrested 216-780-3417

thanks Brian

Lets just round up to an even 600, cash on delivery via monk. I want them by Christmas, and the monk can stay for dinner. ;)
 
I'm pleasantly surprised that there were people agreeing with me. Sometimes my attitude of "sticking up for what I feel is right" gets me in trouble. But then again that's why I chose to support this forum.

Cheers all you sexy home brewers :mug:

Also Happy Holidays
 
I'm pleasantly surprised that there were people agreeing with me. Sometimes my attitude of "sticking up for what I feel is right" gets me in trouble. But then again that's why I chose to support this forum.

Cheers all you sexy home brewers :mug:

Also Happy Holidays

Reminds me of what my grandpa used to say:
The only way to make the world bright is to never mind what others say and do what you think is right.

Happy holidays to you.
 
I bought some while in Belgium earlier this year and brought it home. For being #1 on Rate Beer, I was expecting more. It is a good beer, but was way over-hyped to me. There are so many other beers I would rather spend money and liver on to drink and enjoy.

It just confirms to me that everyone has a different preference when it comes to beer.
 
I definitely can see how a beer that is objectively rated as the best may not be the most satisfying beer to each person. Sometimes, when it's served with the right food and at the perfect termperature, I can't find a better beer than PBR.

Then again I recently had my first Lagunitas Brown Shugga' Ale and think it's the best stand alone beer I've had in years.

Reminds me of what my grandpa used to say:
The only way to make the world bright is to never mind what others say and do what you think is right.

Happy holidays to you.

Solid words to live by.
 
I never had their beer but if you're a fan of their brew I would buy to support them
 

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