Monks make the best Beer

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:29:05 GMT

clipped by: boozich
clipper's remarks: I've gotta get a hold of some!!

Monks make the Best Beer

The Trappist monks at St. Sixtus monastery WESTVLETEREN, Belgium

have been brewing Westvleteren beer at this remote spot near the French border since 1839. Their brew, offered in strengths up to 10.2% alcohol by volume, is among the most highly prized in the world.

They haven't increased production since 1946. They sell only from their front gate. You have to make an appointment and there's a limit: two, 24-bottle cases a month.

"We sell beer to live, and not vice versa," says Brother Joris

Rate Beer and Beer Advocate, rank the strongest of Westvleteren's three products, a dark creamy beer known as "the 12," best in the world, ahead of beers including Sweden's Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter and Minnesota's Surly Darkness. "No question, it is the holy grail of beers,"

using a recipe they've kept to themselves for around 170 years. The result is a brew with a slightly sweet, heavily alcoholic, fruity aftertaste.

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Monks make the best Beer

Monks make the Best Beer