Saint Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren
Westvleteren Abbey is inhabited by brothers from the Cistercian order. They live according to the rule of St. Benedict. They devote their lives to prayer, reading and work. In 1831, Jan-Babtist Victoor, together with the prior and several monks, founded a Cistercian monastery here. In 1840, the ever-growing congregation built an abbey church and a primary school. In May 1839, after receiving a concession signed by King Leopold I, a brewery was opened on the abbey grounds. In 1850, sixteen monks from Westvleteren went to Scourmont near Chime, founding an abbey there. In 1871, Pope Pius IX granted the monastery in Westvleteren the status of an abbey.
Legendary Trappist beer
Initially, the monks brewed beer for their own use, then they began selling it, making the brewery the main source of income for the abbey. In 1945, Abbot Gerardus Deleye decided to downsize the constantly expanding brewery. He believed that the constant work of brewing beer distracted the monks from what was most important: prayer and contemplation. In 1946, production was transferred to the nearby St. Brewery, which is still operating today. Bernard in Watou. In 1962, the concession was extended for another 30 years. Finally, in 1992, beer production returned to Westvleteren Abbey. This was necessitated by changing regulations regarding the brewing of Trappist beers. From now on, only beers produced by monks, within the walls of the abbey, could be called Trappist beers.
Westvleteren Abbey today
We brew to live. We don't live to brew.
After the cooperation with Westvleteren ended, the Saint Bernard brewery began brewing its own beer, which remains popular to this day. The most famous beer from this brewery is St. Bernardus Abt 12. Nowadays, the abbey in Westvleteren brews a brewery within the monastery walls. About 6,000 hectolitres per year. Five natural ingredients are used to brew the three Trappist beers: blond, 8 and 12. All beers are unfiltered and unpasteurized, undergoing secondary fermentation in the bottle. The purpose of the St. Sixtus Abbey Brewery is to finance the abbey's activities and its social works.
Because the monks chose a solitary life spent in prayer and silence, the monastery and brewery are not open to visitors. The congregation invites guests to the guesthouse to experience community life spent in silence and prayer. The stay lasts from two to six days. Many guests also visit the pilgrimage chapel and the Lourdes Grotto, a place of prayer with a statue of the Virgin Mary. Opposite the abbey is the In de Vrede restaurant, which serves all the beers brewed at St. Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren.
