In de Vrede

The restaurant is a little out of the way but totally worth the trip. Even though it was quite busy, I didn’t have to wait for a table. The stars of the house are definitely the three beers they offer from the Sint Sixtusabdij next door. The blonde was a great surprise, one of the best I ever tried. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the W8. The W12 is really amazing. A superb job by Trappist monks (should I convert?).
There weren’t a lot of food options. I tried the local pâté, which was good but it is one of my favorite foods so I’m a bit biased.
If you like beer, you must come! ‘Nough said!

Good beer, but this place is overrated. The owner decides when to actually sell the beer and then keeps people waiting for hours after giving a time but then changes the time.
Lunch at this place is another story. They were out of various items on the menu, then they messed up my order, then their cappuccino machine was broken.
Not worth coming back here. Owner doesn’t care about customers, only making money.

Home to the infamous 12, which many regard as the finest beer in the world. Think porter. Starts slightly nutty with small carbonation bubbles yet finishes with the taste of good, dark chocolate.
The small gift shop sells packs of the 6 (blond), 8 (similar to but brown ale), and 12. There were plenty of cases of 6 and 8 when I visited on November 30^th but no 12’s. I’m going to call today as the waiter said they put out 12 about half of the days.
Restaurant is modern and comfortable with room for an additional 500 on their deck. Area is all farms so quiet and peaceful.
Pâté was excellent. Good texture. Not smooth. Cheese was mild and a nice accompaniment to the beers. Both also made in the monastery.
The stories of the beer being unavailable in the gift shop are likely true during high season.

Surprenant!
Au détour d’une petite route de campagne, on découvre cet établissement à côté de l’Abbaye. Que de monde!
On peut y goûter la désormais mythique bière de Westvleteren. Cette bière a été classée «meilleure du monde» selon un classement anglais et connaît depuis un vif succès. Petite restauration (croques monsieur, potages, fromage et pâté de l’Abbaye).
Boutique Westvleteren, bières vendues par 6 à moins de 20 euros, selon disponibilité. D’autres produits locaux sont disponibles.
On peut y visiter le claustrum. Grande terrasse l’été.

This is the best beer in the world hands down!
With a little bit of a crazy countryside drive to way out in the middle of b**t f**k Belgium, you can find this little gem hidden in the beautiful Belgium countryside along many a farm house and lots of cattle.
Made by Trappist monks in the grounds of the beautiful Saint Sixtus Abbey in the Vleteren region of Belgium, this place is a must go to if you are in Belgium! I’m serious! Rent a car and go!
The Westvleteren 12 is my all time favorite, but every single beer is delicious and believe me I’ve tried many a beer around the world and this is THE BEST! You can also order food, but just a little bit of info; everything is in Flemish. From the menu to the staff. Some of the staff knows some English, but not much. So be prepared.
I have been to and recommended this place so many times I can’t count! Just go!

Yep, it’s all that it’s hyped up to be. I actually did enjoy the pâté (maybe it was different) and the cheese was pretty good too. Most importantly, I loved the beer. It’s what we would consider a barley wine in the US, and I don’t love all barley wine. This beer was so good that I brought a 6 pack of the 12 home with me!

What can be said that hasn’t already been said? This is pretty much the only place in the world where you can ‘legally’ purchase Westvleteren beer. It’s everything you want it to be. I wish the menu was more substantive — it’s basically just multiple varieties of grilled cheese — but it is tasty and gets the job done. Try the cake made with hops, and the ice cream made with Westvleteren XII, both are fantastic.
Pay attention, this is important: should you have the privilege of visiting this place, please don’t embarrass yourself and everyone around you by asking to buy various things you see. If it isn’t in the shop, you can’t buy it. You know the rules, that’s why you’re here. It won’t happen. You’re not the exception, so don’t try.
The extensive outdoor seating area is perfect on a sunny summer day. Don’t miss it. They have some odd closing days, though, so be sure to check your schedule — we almost missed out.

Anyone who knows beer knows that this is the Holy Grail for beer lovers. The world’s rarest beer (a moment of silence, please)
Set out in beyond the boonies, and even further out than that. ;) YOu schlep way out and find yourself at the Abbey where this beer is made.
You MUSt make an appointment if you want to buy this beer to take along with you. To do so you have to play phone tag with a number that is not awlays answered. Make sure you don’t call until you have your rental car because you have to know your license plate number to pull up to the drive through where they let you buy the beer. Seriously, it’s that hard core.
You can risk it and hope they sell it in the gift shop the day you are there. However, you are limited in how many bottles you can buy and they also only sell one of the three beers per day, it’s luck of the draw when you get there.
You cannot tour the abbey here, but you can go to the tasting room which has an educational display about life in the abbey and the beer making.
The tasting room is enormous holding a huge indoor area and large patio. The food is not that great. AVoid the pâté and abbey cheese. It’s disgusting. I love pâté and I’ve rarely met a cheese I don’t love. Both were awful. However, the beer…
It’s delicious. Be sure to try all three beers. (you are not going to get a DUI out here) there is NOTHING out here. (not that I’m condoning that, I’m just sayin…)
The café is crazy crazy busy, so be prepared to wait so order your next beer about halfway through.
Enjoy being one of the few people of the world who get to savor this beer!

If you can’t make an appointment to purchase Westvleteren from the Abbey, then you can buy six packs from the gift shop at a slightly more reasonable price than you would find elsewhere (e.g., 12 euros at beer shops in Brussels). The food at the restaurant is so-​so, but the trip is worthwhile if you want to buy Westvleteren.
At the gift shop, the unstated rule (or we might have just missed the posting) is that you can buy two six packs of beer. We bought two and then ended up buying one more on our way out the door. No one at the shop objected.
Check the schedule if you want to buy the Westvleteren 12. I believe the gift shop only sells beers that the Abbey is brewing that week.

Question existentielle quand on se trouve au fin fond de la Flandre occidentale: Que faire au terme de 2 h de pèlerinage + 5 min passées au «Sint Sixtus Beer Drive», le coeur léger, le coffre rempli avec ses 48 bières ?
Direction le restaurant-​magasin de l’abbaye, bien évidemment !
L’occasion de boire ou reboire les 3 bières de Westvleteren (dont la XII à 4,90 €) devant une assiette mixte. L’occasion surtout de recharger le coffre une dernière fois pour la route…
Gelée trappiste, fromage trappiste, pack de 6 Westvleteren XII (à 20 €, sans réservation, mais 2X plus cher qu’au drive-​in), verres dédiés, etc. Sans oublier le sacro-​saint Kinder Bueno. Cherchez l’erreur…
De mémoiré de coffre de Golf, du jamais vu !

Clearly if you know your beer, you are already aware that this is Mecca for beer nerds. We came on a Saturday afternoon after taking the ferry to Calais. It is only about an hour drive from the ferry
and definitely worth the detour if you are en route to Paris and looking for something a little different.
I was surprised at how busy the café was on a Saturday afternoon. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere although there are plenty of signs to guide your way. Although it was busy we were still able to find a table with relative ease. Our waitress didn’t speak any English. My french was bueno enough to order a couple of beers along with a couple of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. The sandwiches were good but the beer was everything it’s supposed to be and more. After enjoying one each of the blonde, 8 and 12 we walked the grounds and my DD played for a bit on the playground out front.
I would make this a stop on any trip I make to Belgium \ Paris in the future. Besides the café, you can take in the Flanders region of Belgium \ France which is steeped in history. Can’t wait to make my next visit!