So the moment is finally about to arrive. After months of patient, and at times impatient, waiting and anticipation – at least on my part (I can’t speak for the rest of you) – on Friday I finally get my hands on one of the world’s rarest, most coveted beer. For that is the day Westvleteren goes on sale in the province. I mentioned its impending arrival a number of months ago, when the one-time shipment was first announced.
For the uninitiated, Westvleteren is one of the seven Trappist Abbey ales, which are Belgian-style ales brewed by monks. It is the hardest to find Trappist, as normally the beer is only sold from the monastery gates, and even then there are strict quotas on every purchase. However, the Saint Sixtus Abbey (which is located in the town of Westvleteren), built in 1831, is in desperate need of renovations. A re-build in fact. So, the monks swallowed hard and made the decision to do a series of one-time runs distributed around the world for the express purpose of financing the work. They designed a special Gift Pack, with six bottles of the Westvleteren 12 (their strongest beer) and two tasting glasses. Alberta got a portion of the North American allotment.
It would somehow seem anti-climactic to find that the beer just suddenly appeared on beer store shelves, so the distributor has organized a couple of official Launch Parties for the beer. Everyone is welcome. Here are the details:
- Calgary. 4:00 pm, 1410 World Bier Haus (1410 – 17 Avenue SW)
- Edmonton. 4:00 pm, Sugar Bowl (10922 – 88 Avenue)
Both locations will be selling bottles of the Westvleteren 12 for consumption onsite (as of writing, I am unsure what the price will be). As it works out, I will be hosting the Edmonton event (since the Calgary host can’t be in two places simultaneously). I normally don’t do events for specific breweries or distributors, but this one feels different. They are a bunch of monks who are giving us only the tiniest glimpse into their wondrous beer. I think I can feel okay talking up their beer a bit (really, is anyone going to disagree that this is a noteworthy moment). Not sure what they are going to do in Calgary, but my plan is a short speech (emphasis on short) on the Abbey, their history and notorious hesitance to sell, and then a quick toast to the Monks. I hope to see you there.
If you are interested in the gift packs themselves, they, too go on sale in select liquor stores in both cities. In Edmonton, Sherbrooke Liquor on the northside and Keg and Cork on the southside have packs. I think (but don’t quote me – I am too lazy to research) they are selling them for $75 a pack. In Calgary it can be found at Kensington Wine Market, Coop Liquor Stores and Zyn.
A number of you might be skeptical about whether the beer is worth all the hype. I will do a more thorough review later, but I can say I got an advance small sample (for my last CBC column) and I can say it was a soft, complex, multi-layered beer. I have had other West-vs in the past (on my Belgium trip a few years ago and from very lovely friends), and have been impressed how delicious the beer is. For the moment I will sidestep the debate about whether it is the best beer in the world, but I can safely say it will be worth your money. I can say that because I am putting my own hard-earned cash on the line to buy a couple of packs myself.
Looking forward to Friday.
July 18, 2012 at 12:44 PM
Good beers, not worth the hype IMO. I’ll stick to Rochefort 10 when I need a dark boozy rummy belgian something or other.
July 18, 2012 at 3:31 PM
I don’t think it is far and away the best either, but it does rank up there within the style. I will include it in a massive Belgian Dark Strong/Quadrupel tasting later this fall and see how it compares.
And I personally think the Blond is far and away their best beer (did a Blond, 8 and 10 tasting last fall).
July 18, 2012 at 3:31 PM
I meant Blond, 8 and 12, duh.
July 18, 2012 at 4:12 PM
I agree that their Blond is remarkable. Too bad it is not more readily available either.
July 18, 2012 at 4:31 PM
They are good beers, no question. The title “Best Beer in the World” is of course extremely subjective, but the rarity adds a little mystique. Would it still be as highly rated if it was regularly available? The same thing could be said about other hard-to-find beers, Three Floyds Dark Lord being a good example.
While $75 for a 6-pack of beer at first sounds pretty steep, put it in context for a moment: by volume and alcohol content, you are buying roughly the equivalent of 3 bottles of wine. If you could buy 3 bottles of arguably the best wine in the world (again, subjective) for $75, that would be a steal of a deal. You could easily spend that much on 3 “average” bottles of wine. Beer lovers are very fortunate in that regard compared to wine lovers, as we can sample high quality products at a fraction of the price. Therefore, I had no problems putting down deposits for a few six-packs. After all, I already paid $200 for a mixed 6-pack of Westvleteren on the “grey market”, so this is cheap in comparison.
July 18, 2012 at 7:18 PM
We locked pre-orders in at $74.99. If you pre-ordered and pick it up Friday, you get a $5.00 discount so your balance is $19.99 instead of $24.99. If you didn’t pre-order, your price (Friday only) is still $74.99, but that includes a $5.00 discount too, as the regular price of $79.99 takes effect Saturday morning. As of this moment, we have pre-sold 48.5% of our order. As of tonight, we stop taking pre-orders, so you take your chances Friday on. We should be ok for a few days, but you never know…
A side note to Ernies point. At $12.50 a bottle, there’s a lot of other beers that are more expensive. Factor in the trip to Belgium you don;t have to pay for, and these are a bargain.
I’d like to make two other comments about the whole Westvleteren shipment. One, to make sure everyone knows just how thankful they should be that Horizon beers put the effort into building a relationship with the monks that resulted in their recieving the Canadian shipment. That’s the only reason there is so much of that product in Alberta. Their portfolio includes: Achel, Boon, Bosteels, Cantillon, Chimay, De Koninck, Dupont, Duvel, Het Anker, La Chouffe, Liefman’s, Maisels, Maredsous, Ommegang, Orval, Rochefort, Verhaeghe and Westmalle. If you really want to say thank you, buy a few bottles of their beer this weekend too.
Two, if you’re really thankful for this beer, go to the Westvleteren website and make a direct donation. You’ve helped build an abbey with the purchase of the giftpack, you can help in other ways too.
July 18, 2012 at 8:44 PM
As to the blonde the Poperinge Hommelbier, the DDC DV and De Ranke XXX bitter all rock on it. As to the Westy 12 if you care sure your day or bottles bought will be awesome. Cheers!
July 18, 2012 at 11:34 PM
For all the Sherwood Parkians , Little Guy Liquor will be receiving some Westvy as well !
July 19, 2012 at 1:55 PM
Sorry I missed you, Mike. No one told me you got some of the shipment too.
July 21, 2012 at 2:45 PM
Well, it’s going fast. Over half of the pre-orders picked up yesterday to take advantage of the discount. Continental Treat picked his up today, so it will likely be available there as of tonight I would expect.