Brouwerij de Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren — Attraction in Vleteren

A bit of advice from someone who's visited the abbey/ brewery twice now.. First off I would say the beer isn't as difficult to come by or purchase as a lot of people or writings make it out to be.. The whole phone/ hotline thing is an option but it's not the only way to buy the beer at the abbey. Using the hotline allows you to reserve a wooden crate which holds 24 beers I believe. That crate and the beers are now yours to keep. You have a timed ticket which is when you can pick up your crate and they only brew certain beers for certain days so you won't be able to buy all three styles (blond, 8 (dubbel) and 12 (tripel)). They only allow you to reserve 2 crates as well on the day. This is all an option but I've never been patient enough to bother. The other way and easiest way is by going directly to the monastery and visiting the visitors center/ cafe on site called the In de Vrede. This is a large hall (that can get very busy) that serves good looking food, the beer on site in glasses, and has a shop inside that sells the beers in cardboard boxes. Each box holds 6 beers. Again, on the day they may not have all three styles but the first time I went two years ago I remember they did have all three styles however they limit you on how many boxes you can purchase (2 max?) I bought a box of the 8 and 12 and said next time to the blond (More on that below). When I arrived it was early afternoon, around 1PM and the shop was full of boxes of beer. There was also a small queue that took about 5 minutes to wait through. I went back again two years later and around the same time of year, early December. I arrived around 5PM and guess what, the shop had sold out of beer! There was nothing left! The restaurant was still open so one could still have a seat and try the beer there but you couldn't take any bottles home with you. So, my advice is to try to get there early in the day to avoid this issue. Check the website of the In de Vrede and make sure you go on a day it's open! They close on certain days for rest. Also check their opening times, last I checked it was 10AM. It would be nice to get a bit more consistency out of them so you always knew if you went to them beer would be there for you to take home but this is just not how they operate there. I think though if you get there earlier in the day you shouldn't have trouble buying from the cafe. Lastly, yes it's worth it! The beer is excellent and the 8 and 12 is perfect for aging so you can...

Best beer in the world lives up to its name! Make sure you plan ahead to get one. I live in the USA and have been over here for business in the past year. In May 2018, I foolishly stopped by thinking I could get in to try some without reading up on the process of getting one. No go. The kind receptionist told me about the process for ordering beer ahead of time, by calling the number on their website. She also pointed me to the cafe next door, In De Vrede, that serves their beer (unfortunately they were closed). I wasn’t going to order a case of 24 (limited to 2 cases per order if you can get through and they have availability). Fast forward to August 2018 on my next trip to the area. I researched the hours for In De Vrede to ensure I arrived when they were open. Before even ordering a beer, I stopped in the gift shop and bought six packs of Westvleteren 12 (limit of 2 six packs per order per day). Understand that there is limited availability and they may sell out before you get there. Then I stopped out to their patio area to order and enjoy their beer on draft, the Sint Sixtus Westvleteren selections. It...

Very frustrating to order, the new web site makes it easy but you spend hours in the waiting room only to be kicked out when it's closes. I have a 25% success rate so far. missing out on an order in three trips.

Frequently rated as the best beer in the world, Westvleteren is exceedingly hard to obtain as the abbey only brews sufficient beer to fund their operations. There are only two legitimate ways to get this ale. The restaurant In de Vrede across from the abbey serves the beer with meals and has a gift shop where you can buy up to two six packs.

The Abbey also sells directly to customers with a method designed to block wholesalers from scooping up all the beers and to make the sales only to individuals. A buyer has to check the web site to know what beers (12, 8, Blonde) are available, what time to call to order and when those beers can be picked up. Busy queues mean you often do not get through. When you order, you give your car registration and are given a day and time for the next week when you can pick up your 2 cases of 24 beers.

But the beer is worth...