Westvleteren 12 (XII)
Style Abbey Quadrupel / Abt
Brewed by Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
Westvleteren, Belgium
10.2% ABV

Westvleteren 12 (yellow cap) (formerly Abt), a 10.2% ABV, introduced in 1940.

The Trappist monks at The Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren, Belgium, aren’t in the business of brewing beer for the riches or glory — they brew only enough to support themselves and their abbey.

But fame found them anyway in the mid-2000s, when the beer-information website RateBeer.com named their dark, quadrupel-style 12 the best beer in the world.

‘They Sell to Live’

Westvleteren 12 is again on RateBeer’s 2015 list of the best beers in the world, which is no surprise after all these years, though the monks are still a little overwhelmed by the publicity. Of all the breweries in the world, and of all the beers made by all the breweries in the world, imagine being rated the best. It is an enormous title that most brewers can only dream about. Still, the monks are humble. They didn’t set out to make the best beer in the world, but they do.

The current production is 475 kilolitres (60,000 cases) per year, and has remained the same since 1946.

Despite the popularity, the monks of St Sixtus have continued to decline almost all interview and visit requests, and have not enjoyed all of the attention they have received. Non-monastic visitors to the abbey are usually turned away, instead being directed to the visitor’s centre opposite where there is information about the abbey and brewery. They have stated their desire to only produce as much beer as needed to finance the community.

西佛莱特伦修道院12号比利时四料
Trappist标志是受到法律保护的，只有僧侣亲手在特拉普修道院内酿造的啤酒才能够携带象征Trappist的六角标，全世界仅有11家认证修道院啤酒，比利时境内仅有6家，分别是Achel、Chimay、Orval、Rochefort、Westmalle和Westvleteren，你可以从酒瓶上的六角标识别出他们。
没有经销商和代理商，仅在修道院现场出售，通过电话号码和车牌号进行电话预定，每个号码和车牌取货后60天才能再次预定。
最初，每辆车允许购买10箱，每箱24瓶的啤酒。随着修道院啤酒名声大振，产量供不应求并且有人转销盈利，这一限购令降低至5箱，一次限购Blond两箱或8号两箱或12号一箱。最为炙手的 Westvleteren 12从2009年起限购一箱。这样做也是为了大众可以公平享有购买机会，防止转销，然而黄牛市场一直存在。