About
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.
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Sloefmans (15815) reviewed
Westvleteren Blond from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
23 years ago
8.5/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 9
Pale gold. Lacy head. First nose is grain, then a massive aroma-hops attack. Taste is beautifully hoppy - not as a massive American IPA, more like a good British cask ale. Raisins-aroma, without the sweetness. intermediate mouthfeel, some alcohol. No real new aftertaste. Impression of hops again - not necessarily whole hops. Extremely nice hopsaroma, but would be even better with a bit more body.
Tried from Can on 24 Jan 2003 at 12:14
Sloefmans (15815) reviewed
Westvleteren 6 from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
23 years ago
8.5/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 6 Overall 9
I noted this beer as "maybe still available", so I got one from my cellar - bought at 'De Vrede' when the blonde was just out, so one of the last brewed. Deep dark brown, orangeu at the edges. Thick colappsing cream-coloured head. Nose : biscuit, cake, old armagnac, hazelnut, pistacchio, esters. Taste: (malt)bitter, toffee, biscuit and chocolatecake again, yeasty(!!!), plum and ripe banana, esters. Oxidation is there, but couldn't be nicer. Mouthfeel: quite filling - more than one would expect from a 6.2 Aftertaste gives again some more bitterness. It's the only place where the beer shows some 'tiredness' - nothing dramatical, though. Superb for a light, and aged beer.
Tried on 23 Jan 2003 at 12:34
jhaase (15105) reviewed
Westvleteren 12 (XII) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
23 years ago
9.5/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 10 Flavor 10 Texture 10 Overall 10
Opaque and cloudy dark brown, for some reason this bottle did not develop much head - perhaps it was a bit too cold. Raisins, nuts, almonds and the spirit of christmas to come in the aroma. Massively dark fruity (plums)and malty fullnes with overtones of sherry and cognac. It feels kind of strange to give the beer so many top scores, but I have to anchor the upper end of the scale somewhere, and this is probably not the worst place to do it :-)
Tried from Bottle on 15 Jan 2003 at 13:09
jgb9348 (12478) reviewed
Westvleteren 12 (XII) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
23 years ago
9.9/10 — Appearance 10 Aroma 10 Flavor 10 Texture 10 Overall 9.5
Lives up to the #1 Ranking! Almost like an apple cider champagne! Too bad it was $11 for 11 ounces! Great colour and sediment! I didn't want to touch this rating, but figured I had to given that I've had this beer more than 10 times since this entry, been through more than 14 YEARS since this entry and still think just as fondly (perhaps even moreso), but can be quite verbose about it: Happy Birthday Claire (16-October-2012)! Happy Birthday Paige (02-January-2015)! Happy Birthday Tate (02-November-2017)! Sampled for Tate's Birthday, purchased from Beer Mania in Bruxelles, Belgium on 19-August-2013 for €12,00 sampled at the hospital in Arlington, Virginia on 02-November-2017. Another amazing sample with a ridiculously complex finish and palate with deep fruits, a ton of yeast, dry grain, sweet pungent honey and caramelised sugars, yet a relatively malty and earthy bite near the end. Amazing, as usual. Wish I had more to drink now, but the rest will have to wait until another special day. Rating for this sample: 10,4,9,5,19 And having yet another bottle after my 10,000th rating, here is this one: s: molasses - figs - yeast a: collodial rich brown - not much head left t: rich - sweet - musty & complex p: pit fruity - earthy - rustic o: still great - flavourful - yeastie & complex 33 cL bottle - Beer Planet: Bruxelles, Belgium - purchased: 18-January-2015, sixteen days after my second kid was born - €13,00 - sampled, after rating #10,000, in celebration, on 15-July-2023, about 8,5 years after purchase 9,3,10,5,18
Tried from Can on 10 Jan 2003 at 19:04
Ungstrup (52439) reviewed
Westvleteren Blond from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
23 years ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
A slightly unclear golden beer with at very good head. It has a very powerful aroma of fruit and ale yeast. The flavor is fresh at first and then woody and finishing with some sharpness on the back of the tongue - a for me unrecoqnizable spice. A very complex flavor.
Tried on 17 Nov 2002 at 16:31
caesar (10832) reviewed
Westvleteren Blond from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
23 years ago
8.8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 9
Blond color, with creamy longlasting head. Spicy aroma, oranges, melon. Best Westvleteren around, hands down.
Tried on 10 Nov 2002 at 14:31
Ungstrup (52439) reviewed
Westvleteren 12 (XII) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
24 years ago
7.6/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
A dark brown beer with a beutiful head. It has an aroma of caramel and fruit. It is very sweet and slightly bitter and has a fruity taste that tickles your tongue slightly (the alcohol?) Definately a great beer.
Tried on 01 Oct 2002 at 17:15
RichTigers (5280) reviewed
Westvleteren 12 (XII) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
24 years ago
7/10 — Appearance 4 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7
The head that the beer poured with was very disappointing (nothing like the picture on this website). Very dark and slightly sickly beer with a very strong burn't aftertaste. Probably this beer is a little too complex for my taste buds.
Tried on 16 Sep 2002 at 15:16
Ungstrup (52439) reviewed
Westvleteren 8 Extra from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
24 years ago
7.6/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
A dark orange cloudy beer with a beutiful head. It has a fresh fruit aroma and tastest slightly acidic and sweet with notes of fruits. Definatly a great beer - but in my world not one of the best two beers - though still high on my list.
Tried on 15 Sep 2002 at 16:58
caesar (10832) reviewed
Westvleteren 8 Extra from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
24 years ago
8.5/10 — Appearance 10 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Rerate Wow, this beer is not a beer to start an evening with. IMO this one exceeds the Westy 12, because of its better palate, not having the alcoholic taste. This one is softer, but therefore the mixture of great flavors is more present. Original rating: 4.4
Tried on 08 Sep 2002 at 03:04