There are 7 trappist monasteries in the world that brew beer - 6 in Belgium and 1 in Netherlands. Among these, Westvleteren XII is considered to be the best beer in the world according to beer aficionados all over the world. So I embarked on the pilgrimage to enlightenment.
Do try the Abbey cheese. It just melts in your mouth and goes incredibly well with the beer!
The monastery itself is surrounded by hops farms and presents a lush green picture. Biking should have been fun if it was only a little warmer!
And then there is the monastery where you can goto the chapel for worship at specific times.
There is also a souvenir shop where you get all kinds of stuff. Do not miss the chalice with the golden rim. It's one beautiful glass to drink a beer in.
Finally, the beer was indeed excellent, but to call it the best beer in the world? Well, I would say it stands in the band with other trappist beers - at least I got to try Westmalle and Chimay, also the lambic beers that I tried at Moeder Lambic Fontainas in Brussels and they are all very very good beers that stand apart from the rest. So there is no such thing as the best beer in the world - there are a few.
On a freezing December noon we reached Poperinge (Belgium). This is a nice little town with a Gothic church.
We did some research about the journey and came across the Belbus service. This is a public transportation service offered by the government which you need to book at least 2 hours in advance. The telephone number for reservation is +32 59 56 52 56. From what I read, the operator speaks English, but I tried calling several times and no one picked up the call that day. However we did see a Belbus van passing by when we reached Poperinge.
So we had two options now:
1. To hire a bicycle (aka bike)
2. To hire a taxi
Since the temperature was sub-zero, we opted for 2. There is a tourism office at the town centre opposite to the church where we got the contact for the taxi service from. The guy charged us 15 EUR one way (Westvleteren is approx. 6 kms from Poperinge). We were 3 guys and it costed us 10 EUR per head both ways. The bike would have costed us about EUR 12 per head and the downside of having to drive when your drunk on the way back.
If you didn't know it already you cannot walk into Westvleteren and walk out with cartons of beer. The monastery doesn't sell beer that way. You will have to call up the monastery well in advance and register with the number plate of your car. The monks will then call you back and give you a date on which you should go to pick up a pack of 12 (not more than that!)
However, there is a cafe (In De Verde) by the monastery where you can sit and drink as much as you want and the drink was surprisingly cheap for the best beer in the world. The cafe is open until 20:30.
Do try the Abbey cheese. It just melts in your mouth and goes incredibly well with the beer!
The monastery itself is surrounded by hops farms and presents a lush green picture. Biking should have been fun if it was only a little warmer!
And then there is the monastery where you can goto the chapel for worship at specific times.There is also a souvenir shop where you get all kinds of stuff. Do not miss the chalice with the golden rim. It's one beautiful glass to drink a beer in.
Finally, the beer was indeed excellent, but to call it the best beer in the world? Well, I would say it stands in the band with other trappist beers - at least I got to try Westmalle and Chimay, also the lambic beers that I tried at Moeder Lambic Fontainas in Brussels and they are all very very good beers that stand apart from the rest. So there is no such thing as the best beer in the world - there are a few.
