The abbey was established in 1831. Already in the early days beer was brewed in small quantities, not for sale but just for their own consumption. In May 1839, the Abbey received a brewer’s licence signed by king Leopold I on April 19, 1839. Most likely a first test brew was produced the same month. In June 1839 the first official brew was produced.
Around 1860 a vast complex of buildings for amongst others sheds, a guesthouse, barns and a second brewery, was built. It remained however a small domestic brewery for personal use. Only from 1878 on production increased due to a good turnover of the tavern ‘In de Vrede’. Between 1886 and 1896 a third brew house, fully operational as from 1896, was built.
On 20 March 1922 the monks started the expansion of the brewery. On 27 October 1927 for the first time steam was used to brew in the modernised, fourth brew house. This brew house was operational till 5 January 1990.
In 1976 a fermentation room with six open yeast vessels and a laboratory were installed. Fermentation in open yeast vessels, a method that is used very rarely, is essential for the ester profile of the Trappist Westvleteren.
The present brew house was officially put into operation in 1990. The new bottling plant was put into operation in 2013. Since 2014, two brews are made per brewing day. This meant a considerable saving in terms of energy consumption and man-hours.
The lagering cellar and the fermentation chamber were modernised and automated, but because the capacity did not change, production also remained unchanged. The production amounts to approximately 6,000 hectolitres annually, spread over 42 brewing days. In 2016 a new secondary fermentation unit with storage space was built.
Bottled 31 Jan. 2003. Pours at room temperature with a huge light tan head and deep red-brown body with a strong plum, fig, concord grape aroma that opens up with caramel and sweet bread emanating from the glass. The aroma is carried over into the flavor, with plum, fig, alcohol, sweet breads, yeast, and caramel blending with whiskey/bourbon notes and perhaps a touch of soy and wet hay. Outstanding. I can't wait to try the 12.
Bottled (Helsinki Beer Festival 2004) Dark brown. Murky hazy color, like "home beer". Very small brown head. Aroma is smooth and pleasant: prunes and yeast. Taste is very complex: prunes, raisins and yeast. Aftertaste has bitterness and alcoholic flavor. Warming, great beer and goes to my ranking #1 (9/4/8/5/18 4.4). Re-rated, bottled Dark ruby red, almost opaque. Huge steady tanned head, lace. This bottled had quite light aroma of yeast, plum and licorice. Palate is outstanding: balanced marriage of malts and hops. Wineous with fruits and licorice in the medium to full body. Bitter long aftertaste of hops, alcohol and licorice. I really would like to try a matured one! (7/5/10/5/19 4.6)
I managed to get a bottle of this at the Sharp Edge in Pittsburgh back in 2004. I remember not being incredibly impressed but never had a chance to revisit until now in 2013 with a fresh bottle. I remain unimpressed +++ Sampled from an 11.2 oz brown bottle this beer pours a very dark brown color with a huge foamy orange-tan head that slowly dissipates and left good lacing. The aroma was a bit soapy, yeasty and bready with hints of honey, caramel, dark fruits and a bit of a boozy presence.The flavor is tangy, woody and a bit boozy with notes of honey, caramel, fig, cherry and bread. Long finish of caramel, fig and bread. . A solid beer to be sure but really does not live up to the hype. There are many many Belgians that I prefer to this one.
Kind of a hefty price tag but it's worth it to finally have Westy available in my area. I tried the Westy 12 almost 2 years ago by trading and didn't really have the palate to appreciate it at the time. This being the 12's little sibling maybe I should have tried this one first. Pours a deep mahogany color with a very thick and creamy light beige head. The foam actually threatened to escape the bottle immediately after opening. The aroma is a nice bouquet of fruit, spice and sweet malt. Rich bodied and on the carbonated side, with a mild blend of dark fruit, malt, caramel, spice and a hint of sweet chocolate. None of the flavors really stands out, instead it is a nice harmony of flavors. The finish is very crisp and lively on the tongue. The flavor is a little more subdued in the finish, but this is still a well-rounded and exemplary Belgian.
Dark amber/crimson, high carbonation, lots of floaties - aroma of port, cherries, yeast - flavors of aspartame, chocolate, dates, raisins - surprising hop character for a trappist ale - this is pretty tasty, but something seems out of balance - to me, this doesn't live up to the hype - I actually think the 8 is better.
A hazy brown beer with a beutiful collapsing head. The aroma is sweet, moldy aroma with notes of coffee, chocolate, and acidic. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of licorice, wood, raisins, and chocolate. The alcohol runs over the tongue. A little like portwine.
Very dark beer with a very frothy and long lasting head. Strong aroma, hints of chocolate and fruit. The flavour has liquorice and aniseed elements mixed in with the strong alcohol flavour. Overall a good beer especially in the winter months.
Fruity (peach, citrus) belgian yeast aroma laced with spices and a very sligt bitter note. Slightly hazy amber, quite a bit carbonation and a big rocky head. Taste starts out a bit neutral, getting a bit of the sediment in helps. Notes of Pine-needles, honey and spice. Fairly light body and a slightly watery mouthfeel. Spicy aftertaste.
Finally, the last of the Westies is complete. I've had all three Rochies and all three of these, and its safe to say that I'd prefer any Westy over any Rochie. The colour of this beer is a nice blonde (no kidding, huh) with hazy highlights and a soft fluffy white head. If you look hard and really notice, you can see trillions of small bubbles rising on the side of the glass. The aroma is very nice for a 'white', with definate yeastie smells and then some of the banana variety. The taste is light bodied with drying characteristics. Good flavour with yeast, fresh characteristics (one might think of coriander), and a soft white pepper kick. The palating of this beer includes definate drying characteristics as well as some hop bitterness, which is very nice...especially on a warm summer day. A warm welcome from a trappist that cannot do anything wrong. A great beer that really everyone should try if they like their belgies.