Region & History

The Westhoek is Flanders' westernmost tip, a flat landscape along the French border dotted with fields, hop gardens, and low hills. Right in the middle, in Westvleteren, sits Sint-Sixtus Abbey, where Trappist monks brew one of Belgium's most sought-after beers.

The abbey was founded in 1831, when a prior and a handful of monks moved into the woods of Sint-Sixtus and joined the hermit Jan-Baptist Victoor. Brewing began in 1838. The first beer was a thin house brew at around two percent alcohol, made by the monks themselves to save money.

So what does "Trappist beer" actually mean? It's not a style — it's a seal. The "Authentic Trappist Product" logo from the International Trappist Association requires three things: the beer must be brewed within or near the monastery walls, the monks must oversee production, and the profits must support the community or social causes. Westvleteren carries this logo. According to the association, the abbey doesn't sell for profit and only by prior reservation.

The beer from Watou, on the other hand, is not a Trappist beer. From 1946 to 1992, the St. Bernardus brewery brewed "Trappist Westvleteren" under license from the monks. That license was extended by thirty years in 1962. When it expired in 1992, the abbey took brewing back into its own hands. St. Bernardus has brewed under its own name ever since, still following the 1946 recipe, according to the brewery.

There's no EU protected designation of origin for a beer from the Westhoek. Here, protection hinges on the Trappist logo, and that belongs to the association, not the region.