Hello All, Quick question. I'll be in Belgium May 2-7 and was wondering if Westvleteren still offered the 6 pack samplers at the pickup location on pickup days? The wife and I will be heading into the country side to eat at In De Vrede on one of the pickup days and if I can walk across the street and grab a sample pack it would save me from having to wait on the call line/rent a car. Does anyone know if this is still a possibility or should I try my shot on the phone tonight and hope for the best? Thanks.
You can still buy sixpacks at In De Vrede, if they have any in stock. So it is not a certainty. The beer available for sale also varies.... At any time it could be the 6, 8 or 12.
I just showed up on a random Monday last Summer. There was a sign at the In De Vrede gift shop that mentioned that there were no bottles for sale. In English no less. I guess they know who's buying 'em. That was pretty disheartening. However at around 1:30PM that sign mysteriously disappeared and a small line formed pretty quickly. They weren't selling mixed packs, but they had all 3 varieties for sale in paper-box 6-packs. Limit was 18 bottles per person. Literally everyone in that line was either from the US or UK, too.
Agree with euroglot. However, i could hook you up with some westy XII if youre going to quintessence or somewhere near brussels.
This, you can't expect the monks to work on any sort of schedule. As I mention to everyone else, if you have time spend the night at the St. Bernardus B&B. Though you will probably be mad you didn't spend more time there when its all done.
Thanks for the quick replies! I'm debating on whether or not I want to head out to In De Vrede the Wednesday before Quintessence or the Saturday after it. Anyone have any experience on which day of the week odds are best at In De Vrede? YvesB, I'll send you a message shortly.
Was there in 2014 and they had a pallet of 12 at de Vrede, limit was 12 per person and the wife and I maxed out. I forgot what day we went (could probably look it up) but we went right when they opened and stayed for the beer soup and a glass of 12. While we sat and ate our soup we watched a fairly steady flow of locals buying their share and leaving. In that hour or so the pallet went down to half its OG height. I also have about a dozen or so left from that trip if your're wanting to try some. Most of the bottle shops in Belgium will also have Westy's in stock at a considerable mark up.
Definitely this ^^ Also, since you are so close get to DeDolle. They may only do the English tour on Sunday's but it is worth the visit anytime! Chris is a fantastic host.
Definitely planned on hitting up De Struise. Sampling Double Black and then biking back to Poperinge will be an experience. Is DeStruise to DeDolle bikable? While my wife isn't super excited about the beer, she is really looking forward to biking the Belgium countryside so we are doing the train to Poperinge and then biking to In De Vrede and De Struise. Looks like it's a good 1 hour long bike ride one way. Anyone ever made the bike trip from De Struise to De Dolle? If I can't get a whole of any for a reasonable price in Belgium, I'll send you a PM when I get back. The considerable markup is what worries me. I was there for a layover last year and found some 12 for €18 each, which was way more than I wanted to pay.
In the main tourist areas of Brussels I saw bottles of Westy 12 ranging from €11 all the way up to €20. Westy 8's had a lower price ceiling but I don't think I saw any for less than €10. That isn't exactly cheap, but it's at least not highway robbery. When I drove to In De Vrede, I went knowing that I'd at least get to have some fresh pours on-site. I hoped for bottles, but wasn't 100% counting on them. Had I not gotten any, I probably would have bought a couple 12's in town. I think that's how you have to treat it.
If you're near Grand Place, I found Westy 12 at Bier Tempel for 12euro, and it was on the bottle list at Au Brasseur for 17. Had one at the bar and then picked up a few for consumption at home.
About 20km and totally flat. I've driven it but not ridden but shouldn't be a problem if the weather cooperates.
