The Westvleteren Quandary

Scarcity has always been the hallmark of Belgium's Trappist Abbey of St. Sixtus of Westveleteren, better known as Westvleteren. Don't bother pronouncing the beer's name -- you can ape every U.S. media outlet and just call  it "world's greatest beer."

Trappist beers are rightly celebrated as some of the world's best and most are readily available stateside. But St. Sixtus' monks have not raised commercial production like the other seven (Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, Achel, La Trappe and Stift Engelszella, new one in Austria).

Westvleteren produces three beers: Blonde, 8, and 12, their numbers indicating alcoholic strength in the old Belgian style). The monks only produce enough beer to fund abbey operations. Cases can be purchased at the brewery. Beer was only available at certain times, under strict conditions. The only other place to legally sell it is In de Vrede, the cafe next to the brewery and abbey.

I wish I could tell you it's the world's best beer. Having never tasted any of the Westvleteren brews, I just can't. A visit to In de Vrede would be a capstone on my long-plotted Belgian journey, but that will probably wait till 2014 or later.

The beer rating sites started the Westvleteren frenzy. Until then, it was off most people's radars. In late 2005, I remember a conversation with a group of light-beer addicts in a Columbus bar about the beer that got the perfect rating - Westvleteren 12, the strongest in their range.

Demand surged and a Westvleteren black market has developed.  Sometimes, in more exclusive beer bars, you might see a Westvleteren entryl without exception, it was sold out. Bottles found domestically sometimes come with another heresy, a fake label added to the bottle. No wonder the monks get irritated at the clamor for their beer.

Now, the monks are capitalizing on that crazy demand. Westvleteren is getting a one-time-only worldwide release.  Even so, the monks' aim is true. The one-time world distribution of Westvleteren comes because the monks need to fund a new facility, and selling a gift packs of their beer was the easiest avenue.

For beer lovers hoping to get a taste, this release might actually be worse. Thanks to rampant media attention, everyone and their mother wants to try Westvleteren. Hopefully the cost will ward them off. For about $90, lucky shoppers get six bottles and a pair of goblets. Expensive by any measure, but considering black market bottles can run much more, it's a bargain.

Chances of any supply reaching Nashville would be slimmer than none. So I will wait. Until then, I'll daydream about a stop at In de Vrede and hope the three Westvleteren ales are plentiful.