Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren

At Sint-Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren, brewing began as a practical monastic craft and grew into one of Belgium’s most distinctive Trappist traditions. The brewery remains closely tied to the abbey’s life: its beers are brewed and bottled within the monastery walls, made in limited quantities, and sold through carefully controlled channels rather than built around mass distribution. From priory to brewery The monastic story began in 1831, when monks from Mont-des-Cats joined the hermit Jan-Baptist Victoor in the woods of Westvleteren. The abbey’s records show brewery expenses in June 1838, followed by a brewing licence signed by King Leopold I in April 1839. The first officially recorded brew was made that June. Brewing initially served the community’s own needs before production gradually expanded. A living Trappist practice Today, Sint-Sixtus Abbey produces three beers: Westvleteren Blond, Westvleteren 8 and Westvleteren 12. The official brewery describes them as unfiltered, not pasteurised and bottle-conditioned, with secondary fermentation taking place in the bottle. The beers are brewed and bottled inside the abbey and carry the Authentic Trappist Product designation. Tradition with measured change The brewery has modernised without abandoning its small-scale identity. A fifth brewhouse entered service in 1990, commercialisation of Trappist Westvleteren resumed in 1992, and the visitor centre In De Vrede helped mark the replacement of the former dark Westvleteren 6 with Westvleteren Blond in 1999. The monks continue to frame brewing as a means of supporting the abbey, its workers and charitable activity. A rare Belgian brewery where monastic continuity, limited production and in-abbey brewing remain inseparable. Sint-Sixtus Abbey, Westvleteren, Flanders, Belgium 1839 1831: Monks from Mont-des-Cats joined Jan-Baptist Victoor and founded the Saint-Sixtus priory. 1839: King Leopold I signed the brewing licence; the first officially recorded brew followed in June. 1990: The fifth brew house was inaugurated and remains the brewery’s current brewing facility. 1992: The abbey resumed commercialisation of Trappist Westvleteren. 1999: Westvleteren Blond replaced the former dark Westvleteren 6 after the opening of In De Vrede.