A 41+ Years Old Westvleteren Extra 8

[Trappist]

interesting,
i'm heading for Westvleteren next week.So i will try to get my hands on some of these treasures myself.That is , if i can find the "holy crate" , i will let you know how my quest has ended ! 
cheers!

Hi,
Good luck with the quest.
Let's hope the crate hasn't been emptied already !
I wonder if the monks will realize the nostalgic value of that crate when handling the empty crates and bumping onto that "holy crate" 
Looking forward to your findings. Fingers crossed for a success story !!!!!!!
Cheers
Filip

[Jason]

I've decided to bring the remaining (embossed) bottle to the 4th. Bruges Beer Fest next year.
Specially reserved for all Belgian Beer Board members/contributors.
A well deserved present ! 
That extreme tasting moment will also feature the 4th. Bruges' Beer Fest Picture Report. This really has to be captured.
When the 4th. BBF comes closer (Sept.2010), I will notify here on the Forum, and after choosing the best time for most of us who are interested for some lactic-woody Westie Extra taste, I will publish here on the forum the actual time and actual location at the Bruges Belfry Halls, where we will uncap that precious ancient Trappist nectar.
Stay tuned.....

Cheers,
Filip[/color]

Such generosity Filip, a big thankyou from us all on here - as if waiting for the 4th festival by itself wasn't hard enough.

                          Jay   

[Trappist]

Such generosity Filip, a big thankyou from us all on here - as if waiting for the 4th festival by itself wasn't hard enough.

                          Jay   

Anyway, It'll be the most exclusive beer available.
And..... will have aged for one more year 
Patience is a virtue

[Trappist]

MORE TREASURES !!!
A pure coincidence miracle yesterday afternoon. again....
It seems the Belgian Beer Board has a vintage wave going through !
The pictures here under are really stunning, and all were taken at fantastic Tielt based beer bar Pado.

Taverne Pado
Stationsstraat 68
8700 Tielt
Tel: 051 / 40 71 91
Number of beers: 85

Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Other days from 11.00 till 24.00



An amazing vintage tasting was held last evening over there !!!!











People, what you see here above is a labeled Trappist Westvleteren Abt 12. A full bottle.
This is a precious collectors item from Patrick and Dominiek who run Pado.
I took the pictures, but NO WAY this beer was tasted that evening.
Priceless 
What you see is most probably a pre-WWII Trappist Westie 12.
The cap only says ABT and Trappisten Westvleteren. NO alc%, nor Cat. S. mentioning.
Knowing that the labels were discontinued after WWII (1946), means we're talking a pre-46 Westy 12, or maybe brewed during the second World War ??
Amazing isn't it !!!
I also attached the original Westie 12 pre-war label, so you can see how it original looked like.
Also, do notice the embossed Trappist bottle. The same embossed bottle as the old aged Westie Extra 8.

We tasted other vintage miracles.
For instance this old aged Liefmans Oud Bruin from Oudenaarde.
A bottle I bought yesterday afternoon.
This must be at least 50 years old !



A bottle shape I never seen before here in Belgium. Does remind me of an English Porter bottle.
Embossed : Oudenaarde (new spelling) and on the other side (same hight) Liefmans. No label



More vintage tasting that evening.
Gueuze Belle-Vue.
We presumed this beer was dating early 70's.

More with he actual tasting will follow......
Stay tuned....

Cheers,
Filip

[Trappist]

Such generosity Filip, a big thankyou from us all on here - as if waiting for the 4th festival by itself wasn't hard enough.

                          Jay   

Anyway, It'll be the most exclusive beer available.
And..... will have aged for one more year 
Patience is a virtue

If things work out fine, I will also bring a Saint-Bernardus from the 50's.
So we can taste them side-by-side ! 
Cheers,
Filip

[Jason]

Such generosity Filip, a big thankyou from us all on here - as if waiting for the 4th festival by itself wasn't hard enough.

                          Jay   

Anyway, It'll be the most exclusive beer available.
And..... will have aged for one more year 
Patience is a virtue

If things work out fine, I will also bring a Saint-Bernardus from the 50's.
So we can taste them side-by-side ! 
Cheers,
Filip

Words fail me Filip, once again a big thankyou     

Amazed by the vintage Westy 12 bottle, so this is an original Westvleteren brew (didn't it move to St Bernard in 1946)

[Trappist]

Amazed by the vintage Westy 12 bottle, so this is an original Westvleteren brew (didn't it move to St Bernard in 1946)

Jason,
Definitely an original Westvleteren 12 brew this is.
It is after WWII (1946) that the abbey of Saint-Sixtus decided not to be commercial anymore, i.e. abolish labels for instance.
The abbey kept brewing to be able to pay their bills, and to be able to live with the income money. No commercial intentions anymore, and this is today still happening.

Here are the historic facts about the Saint-Bernard brewery:

In the most remote corner of West Flanders, in the middle of “Le Plat Pays”, in the heart of the hop area in West Flanders, a beer is made that fancies most of the beer lovers.

In this poetry village, called Watou, time is apparently passing by slower than in the rest of the country. Life over there is different, quieter; where people live in accordance with nature, where tradition and values are honoured as if they stand the tooth of ages. This is the case of the beer brewery for instance.

Due to the anti clerical policy in the beginning of the past century, the Catsberg Abbey Community, located in the northern part of France, decided to move to Watou, a small village only a couple of kilometres further away but located in Belgium. They transformed a farm into the “Refuge Notre Dame de St.Bernard” with the production of Abbey cheese as main production. With the yield of the sales, they financed the Abbey activities.

In the early thirties, the attitude versus the Clerical in France got better and in 1934, the Abbey community decided to dispose of the Belgian annex and to bring back all activities to France.

Mr. Evarist Deconinck took over the cheese factory and built a first building at the Trappistenweg in Watou where the cheese was further developed and commercialised. This first building was later transformed into the present private rooms but the traces of the cheese factory are still visible and incorporated in this living room.

Shortly after the Second World War, the Trappist Monastery St. Sixtus decided to stop to commercialise their beer as they wanted to call upon non-residents.

An agreement was made : inside the walls of the Trappist Monastery there would brew only beer for their own consumption, for sales to the public at the gates of the Monastery and also for a few taverns whom where connected to the Monastery. Mr. Deconinck on the other hand would brew and commercialise the Trappist Beers under licence (for a period of 30 years)

Next to the cheese factory, a new brewery was constructed and Mr. Deconinck started to brew the Sixtus beers with the help of the Masterbrewer of Westvleteren, who brought along his wisdom, knowledge and the original recipes.

In the beginning of the 60’s, the sun-in-law of Mr. Deconinck, Mr. Claus stepped into the brewery and negotiations started to renew the license. This was finalised in 1962, again for a period of 30 years (until 1992)

In 1992, the agreement came to an end because the Trappist Monasteries (5 in Belgium and 1 in the Netherlands) decided that the qualification ‘Trappistenbier’ could only be given to beers brewed inside the walls of the Trappist Monastery.

Therefore, since 1992 the beers brewed at the Trappistenweg 23 in Watou are commercialised under a new brand name ‘ StBernardus’ (referring to the Refuge de Notre Dame de StBernard – cfr. supra).

At this point in time we also enlarged our range of beers by adding a blond beer, StBernardus Tripel to the existing Pater 6 – Prior 8 – Abt 12.

Recently 3 more beers where added to our range :

    •  Watou Tripel, in collaboration with cheese factory Belgomilk, with whom we still have very good contacts

    •  StBernardus Witbier; a wheat beer created by the legendary Pierre Celis, the Godfather of Witbier and founder of Hoegaarden. The recipe of the wheat goes back to the glory days of the real Belgian Witbier.

    •  Grottenbier, another beer that has Pierre Celis’ signature all over. Mr. Celis created this dark, aromatic beer with bottle conditioning was pointed out as one of the 10 best beers of the world by Beer Guru Michael Jackson.

Cheers,
Filip

[Jason]

Thanks for the background info Filip, makes interesting reading.

[John B]

As always, my sincere gratitude to you Filip. I have not only enjoyed your words and pictures very much, but also have learned a great deal about Belgian beer history as well. Cheers to you my friend!    

[Juha]

wow! what a thread! finding those bottles must've been like winning the lottery - only better!

this nails it - next year brugge beer festival is a must.

(last month I had a bottle of Westy8 in Brussels, it was so smooth, what you had Filip must've been like to the power of 10 on the richter scale when it comes to nuances and history. jealous.)

[Trappist]

(jealous.)

No need to be jealous 
Next year at the 4th Bruges Beer Fest, you'll have a rich sip !!! You'll be amazed, I can tell you already !
Cheers,
Filip

[Trappist]

(I mailed the abbey)

In the mean time I got a reply back from brother Manu, who wrote that he will pass the questions to the brother brewmaster.
I'm still waiting for the e-mail. Let's hope he will have some spare time left to answer ...
Quite interesting info really...
Cheers,
Filip

[Trappist]

Next to the cheese factory, a new brewery was constructed and Mr. Deconinck started to brew the Sixtus beers with the help of the Masterbrewer of Westvleteren, who brought along his wisdom, knowledge and the original recipes.

Hi,
Some more details about the cheese factory.
It is till 1959 that the brewery and cheese factory were combined !
After 1959 the cheese factory was discontinued and brewing the only activity over there.
The manufacturing of the cheese was handed over to Saint-Bertinus in Poperinge.
Since 1986 the cheese is made at Belgomilk, and this is still happening today.
http://www.kazenvanbijons.be/BENL/site/cheese-detail.aspx?it=362&k=&i=1



Saint-Bernardus cheese isn't a cheese you easily find. You really have to look for it.
Soft and tender, and goes perfectly with a Saint-Bernardus beer.

Cheers,
Filip

[Juha]

interesting,
i'm heading for Westvleteren next week.So i will try to get my hands on some of these treasures myself.That is , if i can find the "holy crate" , i will let you know how my quest has ended ! 
cheers!

week is gone, where's the trip report?

 

[Trappist]

interesting,
i'm heading for Westvleteren next week.So i will try to get my hands on some of these treasures myself.That is , if i can find the "holy crate" , i will let you know how my quest has ended ! 
cheers!

week is gone, where's the trip report?

 

Indeed, we all are waiting for the report !
Did you find the Holy Crate ?
Cheers,
Filip