Adbij der Trappisten van Westmalle

On our way home from a weekend in Antwerp, we stopped off for some sight seeing and lunch at Westmalle. As it is only about 20km East of Antwerp, it was well worth the time to get there. Plus, we were able to knock off another Trappist abbey (Orval, Westvleteren and now Westmalle).

The cafe is open 7 days a week from 9am to midnight which is good to know. The abbey itself was not really open for tours but the grounds of the abbey were huge and they let you walk all over the place.

Check out some pictures from our walking around the abbey and lunch at the cafe.

Orval, Trip No. 4

Our Visit to Cafe In de Vrede

Today on our way back from Brussels, Paula and I stopped at the Cafe In de Vrede which is right across the street from the Abbaye at Westvleteren. We had tried to visit here right after Christmas but were saddened to find out that they were closed. When we visited today they were open and they were hopping! We got there a little after noon and quickly found a table at the front. The place is gorgeous, modern and doesn't look like it could be associated with a monastery at all. We sat down and I immediately turned to the list of drinks but I didn't really need to see it as I knew I wanted a Westvleteren 12 and Paula wanted an 8. In addition to just 3 beers on the list (all Westvleteren of course), they had a nice selection of food that included, salads, cheeses, meats and sandwiches. Paula and I each went for a sandwich with a salad. While I was waiting for the food, I took a wander over to the little store at the front of the cafe that had various things for sale, food, candy, cheese and of course beer! On this day they had the 8 and Blonde for sale. Paula and I each got a 6 pack of the 8 as we already had Blonde in the basement at home. The price of a case directly at the Abbaye is extremely reasonable and although the 6 pack price is a bit more at this little shop, they are still very reasonable.

Everyone in this placed seemed to have a big smile on their faces while they were eating and drinking, even the little white dog that was sitting on a woman's lap while she had her beer and sandwich. You have to love the attitude towards dogs in most public places we have been to in Europe so far.

We also came across the coolest beer drinking sight ever I believe. The first was a group of about 4 ladies, probably in their eighties standing in line at the gift shop and one of them coming back with a 6 pack of Westvleteren 8!! This fine beer is not just for the youngsters anymore! We also saw a table of 3 other senior ladies each drinking a beer and no food on their table. I wish I could have taken a picture of this but Paula reminded me that sometimes strangers don't like you taking pictures of them. All in all this was a great lunch stop and one I hope to make back on several occasions with family and friends that come to visit.

About 5 minutes from the Cafe is Deca Brewery which is a contract brewer and beer warehouse but also the brewery where the guys from Struise (makers of Pannepot, Struiselensis, Black Albert and others) make some of their beers and sell them. I had traded emails with one of the brewers a few weeks back knowing that we would be passing through around this time and hoped to grab some Struise beers. I was told that the Pannepot Grand Reserva would be available by the case when we got there but it most have sold out as it was not available. The cool thing about this place is that you can grab an empty crate or box and make a case of whatever you want from full cases as most of them are in open crates of 24. I made a case of several different things including Struise Witte, Rosse and some others. I was told that the Grand Reserva and the Black Albert would be available in April so it looks like I will be making a 3 hour trek or so up to Westvleteren and Deca!

Some pictures from our afternoon at Cafe In de Vrede....

Our Second Trip to Orval

After never having visited Orval in 32 years, we have been lucky enough to visit here twice in less than a month! The first time Paula and I went alone and visited the cafe at the entrance to the Abbaye and walked around a little but didn't go on the tour of the Abbaye.

The second time we visited we went with friends Jason and Janine, visited the cafe for lunch and then took the self guided tour of the Abbaye ruins and all.

Check out all the wonderful sites to see at Abbaye de Orval

Our Visit to Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval

Today Paula and I took a drive to the Orval Abbaye. We found out it was less than an hour from our flat so we typed the address into the GPS and off we were, sort of. We could not find the exact address but got something close and started to drive. It was about 60 kilometers or so from our place (about 36 miles or so), most of it on the main motorway that takes us to all the main stops in Belgium (Arlon, Antwerp, Brussels, Brugge, etc.). Some of the trip was through the country on some smaller, curvy roads.

We arrived at Orval, just in time to get some lunch. When you arrive, you know you are there as you see a big, weathered old Orval sign pointing to the right. Down a long driveway there is the café to the left, a long row of parking spots to the right and up ahead, the Abbaye and all the related buildings. It is a rather large complex of buildings, not all of which are initially visible from the road.

We parked the car and headed into the café, A l'Ange Gardien, for some lunch and liquid refreshments. The café is nice and rustic inside with old wooden tables to sit at with little bench seats that look like they were from an old church school or from the Abbaye itself as they have little crosses engraved in the legs. There is a warming fire place in the corner of the main room that was glowing and heating us. The room we were in was fairly full at the time we arrived, with a few tables of 10 ore more people each, along with some side tables of 2 and 3 people sitting, eating and drinking.

Paula and I both started off with the Orval 3,5 beer (or Petite Orval) as I knew it. I believe this is the monks standard beer that they would drink during the day as it is lower in alcohol than the standard Orval which sits at 6,2% abv.

Follow this link to Orval.....

Our Beer Pilgramage to Abbay of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren

Once we had solid plans to spend a few days in Brussels and Bruges after Christmas, I quickly called up the Abbay at Westvleteren to see if it would be possible to purchase some of their fine beer. First you have to call the automated phone line and find out what day you have to call back, at what time, and what beer or beers are available for purchase. The availability depends on what has recently been produced and is ready for sale. They seem to alternate what is available and spread it out so that they don’t run out of any one beer for too long.

We found out that we had to call a few days before our trip, 20 December between 9am and noon, to make a reservation and we also found out that the Blonde and 12 would be available. Knowing that the 12 would be available I had a strong feeling it would be very hard to get through on the phone. Both Paula and I called on the 20th and found it very hard to get through but eventually at about 11:30 am or so we got through and made a reservation for 2 crates of the Blonde. The 12 was long sold out at that point.

My original plan was to try to visit the Abbay while we were in Bruges as the travel time from there is a bit shorter than from Brussels but when we got through to the Abbay, the only day we could pick up beer was on the 27th, when we were still in Brussels, but we jumped at the chance to purchase any amount of beer at anytime.

Our appointment was for 2:15 pm on the 27th and we had a drive of about 1 and ½ hours so we left around noon so that we didn’t miss our time. The drive to the Abbay is a fairly easy one as the greatest part of the journey is on the motorways with only 10 or so miles on roads through little towns. Our GPS device got us there very easily, despite a little detour right before the Abbay on some farm roads.

The Abbay is not that well signed or that prominent but when drive up to it, you know you are there. We arrived about an hour early to be safe and we also hoped visit the café across from the Abbay as they usually have the Westvleteren beers for sale but unfortunately the In Verde café was not open while we were there. Probably running under holiday hours.

To help kill some time before our appointment, I got out of the car and did a little walk about the Abbay as they have some walking paths that you can stroll along. I headed down a little dirt road toward what looked to be a grotto. It was about a 100 or 150 yard walk until I got close to the little grotto or outside chapel. When things were really in sight I realized that there were 2 people kneeling or standing at the alter and they were not just people, they were monks from the Abbay. As soon as I saw them I quickly turned around and walked back the way I came so that I would not disturb their praying.

We stayed in a little parking lot at the front of the Abbay waiting for our time to arrive. It looked like the appointments started at 2pm as a few cars started to line up at that point. It seemed very organized as the cars would like up and drive into a horseshoe shaped driveway. At 2:15 pm we drove into the driveway and found only 2 other cars in queue which was nice. The car in front of us had 3 empty crates of beers to return and then he picked up 2 new crates of the Blonde beer. He was in and out in just 3 or 4 minutes. We were also in and out in a very short period of time. When I was first in line, I pulled up to a man that was loading stacks and stacks of crates. I got out, gave him my license plate number and he helped me load my 2 crates into my trunk. After I stopped smiling so much, I went into the little office and paid for the beer. The man who was loading the beers is also in charge of cashing you out. If you bring back empty bottles and a crate, the case of Blonde costs €22 but if you need the bottles and crate like I did, a case costs €34 in total, a steal in my mind seeing that a single bottle of the Blonde sells for about €6 at the cheapest that we have seen at bottle shops. You can even use a credit card to pay for your beer purchase but the quantity that I was able to purchase didn’t warrant a credit card but if I could have purchased more, I surely would have.

Since we were not able to visit the café and we only purchased Blonde on this day, we will surely be back for more trips to the Abbay now that we know how to get here and how the process works.

Take a look at pictures from our Westvleteren visit.

Rochefort, Belgium At Christmas Time

Today Paula and I decided to spend the afternoon in Rochefort, Belgium for their Christmas Festival or as they call it here, Marche de Noel. Last week on our way back from Antwerp, we found that Rochefort was just a little more than 1 hour from our flat so we figured today would be a great day to spend the late afternoon at their Marche de Noel eating some local food for dinner and roaming the town to get the Christmas cheer.

Conveniently Rochefort is also the home to one of only 6 Trappist monestaries in Belgium that brew beer, Brasserie de Rochefort which is also the Abbaye de Notre Dame de Saint Rémy. They make a 6, an 8 and a 10. The 10 is one of the top rated beers in the world and a favorite of mine. Since we were heading to Rochefort for the afternoon, we also decided to try to find the Abbaye so that we could take a few pictures and be near brewing greatness. Although our GPS directed us right to where the directions on Beer Advocate told us to go, it actually led us to a dead end road around a few houses. Either the website was uninformed or the Abbaye moved. We headed back in the heart of town for the Marche de Noel and on the way I think we found the road for the Abbaye but we decided to pass and head to the fest for some dinner.

The downtown area of Rochefort is very charming with a good amount of restaurants, bars and little shops and plenty of shoppers to keep them busy. Although it was a Sunday evening, everything was open and hopping. After parking we made our way to the block or so that hand a handful of the little wooden huts we are used to seeing in this part of Europe. We quickly walked through all of the gift vendors and made our way to the stand that had little wursts. We each got a blanc wurst and a little cup of hot white wine that was pretty good. The wurst was great and we chased it all down with a nice sweet Belgian waffle.

We were a little disappointed that this fest in downtown Rochefort didn't sell any bottles of Rochefort beer so we found a cute little hotel with a restaurant and bar a block away that had all 3 Rochefort beers and some wine. I got a Rochefort 8 in the proper glassware and I could not be happier. Ok, I was a little happier when we got a little plate of cheese and salami. Yum.

After my beer and Paula's wine we headed to our car. On the way down we passed a little butcher shop that had a bunch of different Rochefort beers and gift sets in their window. I was blown away when I say a 1.5litre magnum of Rochefort 8 for only €13! The reason this was such a big suprise to me is that just a week earlier in Essen, Belgium I paid €30 for the same bottle. I guess not everything I buy here is a deal and it just teaches me a lesson to buy closer to the source.

All in all it was a very nice evening in Rochefort. A cute town that has alot of charm and it worth another visit in the time to come. Next time, we will definitely find the Abbaye.


Click here to learn more about Rochefort beers


Click here to see a few of our pictures from Rochefort at Christmas