Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus

Microbrewery in Westvleteren, West Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪
Associated with 2 Venues

Established in 1839

Contact
Donkerstraat 12, Vleteren, Westvleteren, 8640, Belgium
+32 70 21 00 45
Description
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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Rotin

7.3
Rotin (7914) reviewed Westvleteren 12 (XII) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 4 months ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle 0.33l from Flink Gegist, Delft, ten years ago. Yes, we can wait... It was the best beer in the world on Ratebeer back then.
Seems clear, copper colored. AROMA- vinous, lots of berries, strawberry, dark grapes, raspberry, blackberry, plum, red currant, touch of black currant, my father's homemade currant wine. FLAVOR- neutral, slightly tart and bitter, and again - lots of berries... Fuller to full bodied.
Funny. Ten years ago when I bought it, it would have been great for me. Today... today is ...hmmm...good. Yes, good. A bit boring but good.

Tried from Bottle on 05 Oct 2025 at 20:30

kurtthomsen

8.5
kurtthomsen (3611) ticked Trappist Westvleteren 8 (2025) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 4 months ago

I don’t actually like dubbels. But yeah. This one is rather good, eh!

Tried from Bottle on 28 Sep 2025 at 22:31

Hopsaké

6.5
Hopsaké (8) ticked Westvleteren 12 (XII) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 4 months ago

Tried on 23 Sep 2025 at 10:55

BodyByDuff

9.3
BodyByDuff (214) reviewed Westvleteren 12 (XII) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 5 months ago
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9.5

Bottle, 2025 vintage. Caramel malt aroma with notes of toffee, dark fruit, toasted malt, cocoa and Belgian Candi sugar. Pours deep caramel colored with half a finger of tan head that has excellent retention and decent lacing. Starts with rich caramel, dark fruit and toasted malt flavors as well as having a rich, full body and smooth mouthfeel. Finishes quite smooth with toffee, Candi sugar and cocoa flavors. Definitely lives up the hype, glad I picked some up while I was there.

Tried from Bottle at In de Vrede on 23 Aug 2025 at 22:58

ITFCDan

6.5
ITFCDan (1921) ticked Westvleteren Blond from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 6 months ago

Tried from Bottle on 26 Jul 2025 at 20:09

ITFCfan

6.8
ITFCfan (3577) ticked Westvleteren Blond from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 6 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Tried from Bottle on 26 Jul 2025 at 20:08

Beer tick image
Grumbo

7.3
Grumbo (24387) reviewed Westvleteren Blond from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 6 months ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 7.5

26/7/2025. Bottle courtesy of Boris, cheers! Caramel, malt, fruity, candied, floral, banana, yeasty aroma. Medium sweetness, moderate bitterness. Medium body, smooth, foamy carbonation.

Tried from Bottle on 26 Jul 2025 at 20:08

Rotin

7.3
Rotin (7914) reviewed Westvleteren 8 Extra from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 6 months ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

30.11.2017
Bottle 0.33l. Cloudy, deep amber colored. AROMA- baked apple, hips, cherries, caramel, plums, opuntia pear, litchi. FLAVOR- moderately sweet, slightly bitter, the same as aroma. Full bodied.
Good.
68867=7.2

13.7.2025
Bottle 0.33l. Exactly ten years from purchasing this bottle at Westvleteren. Cloudy, copper colored. AROMA- a bit "old" character, plum, cherry, berries, dark grapes. FLAVOR- slightly sweet, lightly bitter, the same fruit. Medium to fuller bodied.
Still good. Yes, ten years is good for this beer.
68867=7.3

Tried from Bottle on 13 Jul 2025 at 21:17

tiong

8
tiong (21350) ticked Westvleteren 12 (2023) from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 6 months ago

Bbe 08/11/26, maybe this one? Still pretty nicely balanced quadrupel

Tried from Bottle on 12 Jul 2025 at 22:34

Cthulhu

7.4
Cthulhu (1555) reviewed Westvleteren 8 Extra from Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 8 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

In Brussels.Brown colour. Liquorice ,cherry, plum aroma. Dark red fruits taste.Medium body and carbo.

Tried on 05 Jun 2025 at 12:56

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