Documentary visiting West Vleteren Abbey

[svandamme]

Unique Belgian documentary, where they visit the West Vleteren Abbey famous for the Abt 12 , recentely voted back into the #1 spot as Best Beer in the World.

I say unique, as they have never allowed TV camera's inside their walls before.

It's a flemish documentary, but Ray Cokes (former MTV) is the guest presenter, so much english in it as well.








some facts : they are the least producing Trappist brewery, only producing 4500 hectoliters per year... 60 000 crates of beer worth, they bottle twice a month, and it's the monks themself that do the botteling.
You can only order from the abbey, they do not deliver, not available in supermarkets or even in speciality shops.. (at least not legally as anybody who buys , must agree not to resell)
It used to be so that you went to the abbey, queued up at an old gate with your car, and they'de sell you 1 crate...But when the Abt 12 was first voted #1, the queue got so long, that it stretched more then a mile, and the police had to come sort out traffic issues.

Now you can only order by calling a specific number, at a specific time, to order one of the specific beers.. (blonde, 8 , 12), call for 12 when it's the time for blonde, no cigar.

That phone number is the busiest phone number in Belgium, they have 10 waiting slots, there's only 1 monk who takes the calls, and generally , you can't even get to a waiting slot, the line is constantly busy.

(i've been trying to get me a crate of 12 for months now, calling, redialing.. it's terrible)...

[svandamme]

I'de been calling and calling the beer reservation phone for the last month and a half.. always busy.. finally got through.. my call log indicates 200+ calls.

Just came back from the abbey, across country roads, noticed that the runflat tires on the Bmw are not to good in hot weather, in fact noticed it in a fast left-right, when the backend came round at 110 km/h... anyways... Got the goodies, 2 cases of West Vleteren Extra 8.



1 crate is reserved for a wedding present, the others will be used @ work with the collegues... Now that's what i call a team event..

I can try reserving again next month, i'll try for the abt 12 now... but it's not easy getting through