Westvleteren 12 US Release

[JordanThomas]

Cracked it open at 12:12 today. Frankly, I like my quad better.

Link to your recipe?

 

[pwndabear]

list of locations selling the beer

 

[Gothic_Horror]

Picked up a brick at the Binny's in Chicago. $93 after taxes. Yikes.

 

[j1mb]

I got one earlier. Had a good size line there. Surprised to see that many people there. The news reporter even bought some!

 

[ThickHead]

Picked up a brick at the Binny's in Chicago. $93 after taxes. Yikes.

And it's loooong gone.

 

[GLWIII]

I went to a site that was only selling on line. In the search field I enter "westvleteren", happily see the results showing "in stock". I click "add to cart", then another link to check out and..........d'oh!........the order isn't there. Happened twice. On the third try it said "out of stock." Pretty disappointing, but...trappist glass half full, it's $85 saved.

 

[Grizz]

Beer aficionados are pouncing at the rare opportunity to buy one of the world's most elusive and revered beers for the first - and perhaps only - time in the United States.

It is called Westvleteren XII, and it is often hailed as the "world's best beer" by reviewers and fans.

Westvleteren XII is produced by Trappist monks in Belgium and sold at the abbey of Saint Sixtus in the Belgian countryside. The beer can usually only be purchased by reservation at the abbey - and reservations are extremely hard to come by.

But when the abbey found itself hurting for money for an expensive renovation, the monks reluctantly made the decision to sell the beer outside of the walls of the monastery on a one-time-only basis.

"I think it will be the last [time]," Westvleteren Brewery spokesman Mark Bode told NPR. "They say, 'We are monks, we don't want to be too commercial. We needed some money to help us buy the new abbey and that's it,' Back to normal again."

Beginning today, limited quantities of the beer are being sold in the U.S. and abroad. A number of stores have been sent "bricks" of the beer, which include six bottles and two glasses from the monastery. The gift box retails for $84.99.

"The phone has been ringing off the hook," Megan McBrayer, manager at New York City's Beer Table Pantry, told ABCNews.com. She said the store received 24 cases of the beer and has already sold many of them.

McBrayer said beer lovers are taken with "the whole mystique about it and the rarity of it."

"It consistently rates as one of the best beers in the world," she said. "It's been something that [beer lovers] have wanted for a long time, but it's been completely unattainable."

yahoo beer story

So you guys gonna get yourself a pack?

 

[JordanThomas]

Picked up a brick at the Binny's in Chicago. $93 after taxes. Yikes.

That's disgusting.

And a Corsendonk Christmas pack (6x33cl and a glass) is $22...

 

[bknifefight]

People are talking about it over here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/westvleteren-12-us-release-360437/index4.html

 

[ThickHead]

And it's pretty much no longer available. Long gone.....

 

[milesvdustin]

Meh, too much money for my blood.

 

[neko]

I thought about picking up a box, but I can think of better things to spend that money on and quads aren't my favorite style. I'm sure it is a great beer, but my tastes probably won't be able to say, "that's the best beer in the world".

I even had a dream last night that I bought it. Crazy.

 

[iaefebs]

Anyone up for a even swap? I have some with a cap date of 24.05.09. So it was bottled 05/24/06. It would be nice to do an A-B comparison. Shoot me a PM if interested.

 

[biertourist]

Cracked it open at 12:12 today. Frankly, I like my quad better.

A couple buddies in my brew club in Ireland did a side-by-side tasting of Westy 12 and St. Bernardus 12 and there was unanimous agreement that the St. Bernardus was better. (Having said that I tried a 5 year old bottle in Amsterdam at the Bier Konig and it was world-beating stuff...)

I'd pick Rochefort 10 over unaged Westy 12 every time. Aged Westy 12 is something magical though. Mine has about 9 months on it since the bottling date already and I plan to open one bottle a year for 6 years and see how it ages.


Adam

 

[Grizz]

anyone know an online source for some of this?

 

[Gixxer]

Figures... I was discussing this purchase with the wife last night and we decided it was too rich four our wallet. I was okay with it cause I can make gallons of the clone with that sort of money. Anyhow... So I go out to get beer labels printed up and when I come home she tells me to get something for her under the bed, and sure enough there was a package with a sixer and two glasses in it!!! My wife is great! Now I have to decide when I want to drink them. I might drink one for new year's... Then one for new years next year...

 

[drainbamage]

I went to a site that was only selling on line. In the search field I enter "westvleteren", happily see the results showing "in stock". I click "add to cart", then another link to check out and..........d'oh!........the order isn't there. Happened twice. On the third try it said "out of stock." Pretty disappointing, but...trappist glass half full, it's $85 saved.

Same thing happened to me...Party Source in Bellevue, KY by any chance? I had it in my cart, but had to set up an online account. When I got back, it still said it was in my cart, but I couldn't check out. I came back a little later to try it again, hoping I still had it reserved in my cart...nope, out of stock.

My first mistake was probably trying to do this all on my phone. Oh well, I'm not too torn up over it. Like you said, I can find better ways to blow $85.

 

[jethro55]

Same thing happened to me...Party Source in Bellevue, KY by any chance? I had it in my cart, but had to set up an online account. When I got back, it still said it was in my cart, but I couldn't check out. I came back a little later to try it again, hoping I still had it reserved in my cart...nope, out of stock.

My first mistake was probably trying to do this all on my phone. Oh well, I'm not too torn up over it. Like you said, I can find better ways to blow $85.

There must have been a bunch of us with this same result !

You might be able to get a bottle from westvleteren12.com. It worked for me. It is a good beer. I'll be setting it up against the Rochfort 10 and St Bernardis Abt 12 this weekend, and GES. But I think that I already know that Guinness Extra Stout is gonna win.

 

[drainbamage]

There must have been a bunch of us with this same result !

You might be able to get a bottle from westvleteren12.com. It worked for me. It is a good beer. I'll be setting it up against the Rochfort 10 and St Bernardis Abt 12 this weekend, and GES. But I think that I already know that Guinness Extra Stout is gonna win.

I know my wife and at least 3 friends were also online trying with the same result. From what I heard, they sold out in 3 minutes.

 

[GritCityBrewer]

My co-worker just returned from Belgium and brought me back a bottle. I am cracking it tonight since it's not available for purchase in Washington State.

 

[mooshimanx]

I guess I just got lucky. I was goofing off on Facebook and a local shop announced they were selling so I took an hour off work and drove over there. Stood in line for around 10 minutes and left with a brick.

 

[rvklein]

I picked up 3 bricks and am glad to have contributed to the fund raising effort. 250 six packs sold in 30 minutes at the total wine store I went to. I'm planning on letting them age out. Planning a trip to Belgium in April so want the first time I try it to be at the Abbey.

 

[HopOnHops]

i feel lucky to have just waltzed into my local store, browse for other beers, and walk out with a brick. Easy peasy

 

[zoltani]

Not sure I would jump on this one.

Is it bad to say I got kind of tired of Belgian beers when I was living in Europe?

 

[Dirty25]

A couple buddies in my brew club in Ireland did a side-by-side tasting of Westy 12 and St. Bernardus 12 and there was unanimous agreement that the St. Bernardus was better. (Having said that I tried a 5 year old bottle in Amsterdam at the Bier Konig and it was world-beating stuff...)

I'd pick Rochefort 10 over unaged Westy 12 every time. Aged Westy 12 is something magical though. Mine has about 9 months on it since the bottling date already and I plan to open one bottle a year for 6 years and see how it ages.


Adam

few friends and I did a head to head not to long ago and came up with a differnt opinion. 1yr old westy was perfect 2yr old westy was good but boozy and 6month old st Bernardus kinda was watery. The rochefort and Achel were very unique. Favorite was the westy of all 7 people. Other beers enjoyed were Hendrick, BBQ, rochefort 10, box of chocolates (quad), chimay, and a few home brewed quads

 

[LiquidFlame]

I got mine, waited in line from 6am - 9am, and was 40 something in line. People in front of me had been there since 8pm last night. Our Binny's only had around 64, 6 packs and our Fryer Tucks was selling it off as a raffle so everyone had a fair chance. Glad I took my chance at Binny's because I didn't receive a call from Fryer Tucks.

 

[wubears71]

I bought 10 six packs and am selling them for $500 on eBay.

Not!! I'm not a ******! If I had 10 I would let them go at the price I paid.

 

[TheBreweryUnderground]

I picked one up today, waited in the car diplomatically until about the 10th car around 6:30 when some guys had to sit by the door and make everybody get out of their cars and wait in line. After that it seemed to grow exponentially. Overall Binny's in Chicago handled it well and had plenty for everybody, which was great. I think I'll wait to crack this open until after I brew up a clone and have a side by side with my clone, Rochefort 10, and St. Bernardus 12.

 

[drainbamage]

Not sure I would jump on this one.

Is it bad to say I got kind of tired of Belgian beers when I was living in Europe?

I'd say that must be a terrible cross to bear

Nah, seriously though, I think I could also get burned out on even the best beer if I drank it daily. If someone were to ask me what one beer, or even one style of beer, that I could drink every day for the rest of my life, I wouldn't have a good answer. There are a few styles I can't get into much, variety is definitely a good thing. But I digress...

 

[sfrisby]

Link to your recipe?

I can't take credit for it. Thank "Saq". You can find the thread by searching for Westvleteran clone. Here are the details.

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP530
Yeast Starter: 3.8L stirplate
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.090
Final Gravity: 1.012
IBU: 35
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Color: 33
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5 @ 83
Additional Fermentation: 60 @ 50
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 2 @ 65
Tasting Notes: see thread

I have gotten a few PMs from people who followed the two Westvleteren 12 threads I did regarding trying to clone this recipe and a competition with the other people who were in on it so I'm posting up my notes.

There are two ways of making this, a "New World" recipe that uses specialty malts, and a "Traditional" recipe that goes by the way Westvleteren has been making it for a while with just two basemalts and sugar.

The Pious New World - Took 1st place & BOS in the Westvleteren 12 clone comp with 43 points beating out a real Westvleteren 12 with 40 points.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.54 gal
Estimated OG: 1.090 SG
Estimated Color: 26.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 38.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
13.50 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 74.71 %
1.00 lb Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM) Grain 5.53 %
0.50 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 2.77 %
0.33 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 1.83 %
0.25 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 1.38 %
0.19 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.05 %
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (90 min) Hops 24.7 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer Hersbrucker [2.40 %] (30 min)Hops 5.0 IBU
1.00 oz Styrian Goldings [4.10 %] (30 min) Hops 8.5 IBU
1.00 item Servomyces (10 min)
1.50 lb Dark Belgian Candi Syrup (80.0 SRM) Sugar 8.30 %
0.75 lb Amber Belgian Candi Syrup (40.0 SRM) Sugar 4.43 %
1 Pkgs Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 15.77 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Light Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
90 min Mash In Add 24.00 qt of water at 159.3 F 150.0 F