Westvleteren coming to T.O.

Cass · Post by **Cass** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 9:52 am

I think that's just decorative. But maybe they can put some real bottles out now

detritus · Post by **detritus** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:17 pm

Uh... did I miss something...?

Where is this Westy coming from? Is this some kind of exception to the general rule the abbey has against exports, or has an agent (Esprit/Peter) bought a bunch through the secondary market in Belgium or the US for import to Ontario?

If it's the latter, should one be worried about the quality (re storage, etc.) or even the authenticity (I think there were rumours at one point about counterfit Westy) of what's being sold?

As an aside, since Westy has no label or identifying material other that what's on the cap, how did it ever get approved for sale in Ontario anyway?

-Josh

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:51 pm

esprit wrote:We'll have some St. Bernardus Abt 12 here in about a month and I can't wait to do a side by side which I have never done.

Yeah some people prefer the St. Bernie 12 or even Rochefort 10 to the St. Sixtus. Meaning these beers are so close it should be a stunning comparison. (Thanks for the update.)

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:24 pm

detritus wrote:Uh... did I miss something...?

Where is this Westy coming from? Is this some kind of exception to the general rule the abbey has against exports, or has an agent (Esprit/Peter) bought a bunch through the secondary market in Belgium or the US for import to Ontario?

If it's the latter, should one be worried about the quality (re storage, etc.) or even the authenticity (I think there were rumours at one point about counterfit Westy) of what's being sold?

As an aside, since Westy has no label or identifying material other that what's on the cap, how did it ever get approved for sale in Ontario anyway?

-Josh

I was wondering the same thing.

sphilp · Post by **sphilp** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 5:17 pm

Man, I'd love a bottle to compare. I still have some Rochefort 10 and St. Bernardus 12 cellared from last year.

Wheatsheaf · Post by **Wheatsheaf** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:30 pm

http://www.sintsixtus.be/eng/brouwerij.htm:

You yourself must be the consumer. The receipt stipulates that the beer is not to be sold commercially to a third party. We reserve the right to prosecute offences.

...

Westvleteren Trappist is sold only to individual customers. Every customer agrees not to re-sell the beer to any third party.

Anyone else think that "Trappist Monks Sue LCBO Over Illegal Beer Shipment" would make a good headline?

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:41 pm

I've always sided with the monks on the anti-bootlegging thing, but after thinking about it a bit today, if it bothers them that much, brew more, or brew none at all. Problem solved.

wilco · Post by **wilco** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 9:04 am

Has anyone inquired at any of the bars and gotten a price?

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:04 am

Peter/Esprit buys a number of his Belgian imports via a broker in Belgium rather than dealing with the breweries directly. He mentioned this in a thread about Rodenbach Grand Cru. So I imagine that's how he got his hands on the Westy.

I also imagine that the couple of layers of mark-up combined with the beer's reputation and rarity mean that it'll be damn expensive once it's available...

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:34 pm

I believe I heard Ralph mention something about selling it by the ounce the other day

JesseMcG · Post by **JesseMcG** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:35 pm

wilco wrote:Has anyone inquired at any of the bars and gotten a price?

I asked a girl who was serving at Volo a few weeks ago about the price of the Westy... and she said that her best guess was approximately $45 per bottle. She said that Volo was planning a "Trappist Launch" or something for the near future, but she couldn't provide a date. There was some Rochefort 8 and 10 in the fridge behind the bar, and my buddy wanted one, but she wasn't allowed to serve it until the "Trappist Launch". My buddy was NOT happy

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:15 pm

Volo's website says it is available this Friday

GregClow · Post by **GregClow** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 2:32 pm

icemachine wrote:I believe I heard Ralph mention something about selling it by the ounce the other day

I think that was probably in reference to the Sam Adams Utopias, which he is also considering bringing in. Since the Utopias is more like a liqueur than a beer, you pour a bit and not have to worry about the rest going flat or bad. That wouldn't work for the Westy, though.

icemachine · Post by **icemachine** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 4:42 pm

GregClow wrote:
icemachine wrote:I believe I heard Ralph mention something about selling it by the ounce the other day
I think that was probably in reference to the Sam Adams Utopias, which he is also considering bringing in. Since the Utopias is more like a liqueur than a beer, you pour a bit and not have to worry about the rest going flat or bad. That wouldn't work for the Westy, though.

I think you're right, I was well into my cups when I mis-overheard that

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:58 pm

JesseMcG wrote: There was some Rochefort 8 and 10 in the fridge behind the bar, and my buddy wanted one, but she wasn't allowed to serve it until the "Trappist Launch". My buddy was NOT happy

Rochefort is hard for bars to stock on a consistent basis. It would be easy to run out prior to an event like this 'Trappist Launch' - an idea which I think is more classy and maturely-themed than 'Come get yer Westy!' Withholding the Rochefort ensures the quality of the event Friday, especially for horizontal tastings, but it's regrettable your friend did feel like the proverbial teased bear seeing it right there in the fridge.