I will be visiting the Westvleteren area next week and I intend to try to reserve some beer for pick up. I have read again and again that the beer phone will reject calls from skype (my only calling option), but nobody states why that is the case. Is this because of the "unknown" call on caller ID, or because the monk's system can detect that it is a internet based call and that bothers them for some reason? Skype now has an option to pass a number on to the caller ID, so I am wondering if it will work and let me through to the beer phone if I use this option? Anyone who has an experience or tips for calling Westvleteren, please let me know. I will be in the area on the 10th and intend to call to make a reservation to pick up beer on the 11th (if I can get through of course) Thanks,
That is correct Jim, the only way to get them on the phone is to call with a phone with caller ID. Skype does not work.....And even if you have a normal phone it is a hell of a job to get trough because they get thousands of calls.....
Oh, the good old days of getting up at 3:00 a.m. to start the monotonous task of redialing the St. Sixtus phone number for hours in the hopes of hearing that pleasant sound of a monk's voice saying "hello" and then placing your Westy order...sweet memories!
I'd think you'd have a big disadvantage getting through via Skype anyway. There is a lot of hanging up and redialing involved, and the faster you can do this, the greater your chance at getting through.
