Belgium - Breweries
Brouwerij Westvleteren / St Sixtus
Click on a beer glass for more information
Additional Information
Westvleteren is a brewery founded in 1838 at the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in Vleteren, Belgium, not far from the hop-producing town of Poperinge.
The brewery's three beers have acquired an international reputation for taste and quality, Westvleteren 12 being considered by some to be the best beer in the world. The beers are not brewed to normal commercial demands but are sold in small quantities weekly from the doors of the monastery.
As with all Trappist breweries, Trappist beer is brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, under the control and responsibility of the community of monks, who are involved through the process of making and marketing the beer. The beer is sold only for financial support of the monastery and good causes. The majority of the profit from the sale of the beer is distributed to charities and for community development around the region.
Some of the Brewery's Range
Westvleteren Blonde - Introduced on 10 June 1999.
Westvleteren 8 -
Westvleteren 12 - Introduced in 1940.
Over the years the brand identity is updated and re-launched with subtle changes, a change of Logo or a new font.
Sometimes this brand update is done by the new owners after a brewery has been sold, other times just to give the brand a fresh new look on the ever growing market.
Below are some notes to help identify some of these changes and an aid to reference the year of the glass.
Logo
List of Trappist breweries
As of January 2019, fourteen Trappist breweries are active and members of the ITA (International Trappist Association) allowed to display the Authentic Trappist Product logo on their products.
Brasserie de Rochefort - Belgium (1595)
Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle - Belgium (1836)
Brouwerij Westvleteren/St Sixtus - Belgium (1836)
Bieres de Chimay - Belgium (1862)
Brasserie d'Orval - Belgium (1931)
Brouwerij der Sint-Benedictusabdij de Achelse Kluis (Achel) - Belgium (1998)
Brouwerij de Koningshoeven (La Trappe) - Netherlands (1884)
Stift Engelszell - Austria (2012)
St. Joseph's Abbey - United States (2013)
Brouwerij Abdij Maria Toevlucht (Zundert) - Netherlands (2013)
Tre Fontane Abbey - Italy (2014)
Mont des Cats - France (1826)
Cerveza Cardeña Trappist - Spain (2016)
Mount St Bernard Abbey (Tynt Meadow) - England (2018)