This is the 2nd blog in a series…
At the end of August and into early September, my Beer Buyer Extraordinaire, Sam Hopkins, and I were privileged to be invited on a tour of Belgium and several iconic Belgian Breweries by our good friends at D&V International Importers.
Our trip took us from Brussels to Liege to Bruges to Watou to Vichte to Gent and back to Brussels. I will offer several posts about this iconic trip, the breweries we visited and the great beers we enjoyed.
My first post was an opportunity to introduce you to Duchesse de Borgogne a Flemish Red Ale brewed by Verhaege Brewery in Vichte, Belgium.
Now, on to the 2nd post in this series…Two Days (and nights) in Watou!
Arriving in Watou
At this point in our tour we’d already been to Brussels, Leige and Bruges (I’ll be posting about each soon in separate posts). Now it was time to stop in at the St. Bernardus Brewery in Watou and spend two nights at the St. Bernardus Guesthouse.
St. Bernardus Guesthouse Welcome sign
Portions of the Guesthouse used to be the old brewers home. It now operates like a bed & breakfast, with 11 rooms, a common area, a fishpond and a farm fresh breakfast served in the morning.
What was left of my farm fresh breakfast.
We arrived at the Guesthouse about an hour before dusk and after a quick check-in, we hung out in the courtyard where there was a little truck used for serving beers at events, stocked with St. Bernardus Abt 12 (Belgian Strong Ale) and St. Bernardus Tripel, along with their newest offering, a non-alcoholic brew named “Tripel 0.0” (not yet available in the U.S.A.).
St. Bernardus Beer Truck
It was still early and I began to assess our situation. We were in the middle of nowhere and we were all planning to spend the night here. I was concerned because the only beers I could see available were Abt 12 and Tripel. Despite my love for these fine brews, I began to wonder if these would be our only choices for the night - we might be consuming nothing but high gravity beers. Thankfully, we later found the hospitality fridge inside the house that had St. Bernardus’ entire lineup available - including the lower gravity Pater 6, Prior 8, Wit, and Tokyo.
Beers in the Guesthouse
With a glass of beer in our hands, we walked around the grounds of the brewery. The brewery is 100% surrounded by farmland - a good portion of which is their own hop field.
As we gazed out at the fields, someone pointed out a white house on the horizon - “That’s France!” they told us. “And those other rooftops over there, to the right, that’s Watou.”
The village of Watou sits right on the French border.
The next day we got to drive into Watou and past that white house, on our way to Mont des Cats. The house sits on a road that serves as the border between Belgium and France. Driving along the road on our bus it was noted that everything out the windows to our left was Belgium, everything to the right was France.
I’ve often suspected there must be magic in the waters of Watou, as some of the greatest beers in the world are brewed there (or near there). Home to St. Bernardus and Kapittel breweries, along with the nearby Westvleteren, I have grown to learn it is more than just the water - this area is also home to the largest hop growing region in Belgium.
On our early evening walk around the grounds of St. Bernardus one of the first things we visited were the hop fields. Head brewer, Marco, informed us that about a third of all the hops they need each year are harvested on the property. The remainder are sourced from local farms nearby.
Hop fields at St. Bernardus
The hops are strung about 20 feet high and when we arrived, we learned the harvest typically occurs the week we were there but was delayed due to issues caused by the weather over the summer.
While the view from the ground of the hop farm is impressive, the view from Bar Bernard is nothing short of stunning.
Hop fields at St. Bernardus as seen from Bar Benard
Our first night at the Guesthouse included dinner in the courtyard (more beef braised in brown beer gravy) and beers in the common area.
St. Bernardus Watou Tripel
St. Bernardus Brewery Tour
After a delicious farm fresh breakfast, the group was led to the St. Bernardus tour. While head brewer, Marco, could have given us the tour himself, he recommended we all take the self-guided tour which would allow us to experience the brewery as our customers would if they ever visited.
St. Bernardus Brewery Tour
We were all equipped with a little audio device that we could use to listen to short presentations throughout the tour. The entire experience was very “Disney-esque.” There were videos and props along the way and in a couple of places on the tour you could not advance to the next room without completing a task.
Along the way we were given the history of the brewery, along with the tale of how the Trappist monks at Westvleteren split away to start their own brewery (more on Westvleteren in a minute). When the split occurred, St. Bernardus changed the image of the monk on their bottles to that of a nobleman. Previously the man on the bottle was wearing the garb of a Trappist monk. His hat and robe and other items were removed and replaced, to make him appear as a nobleman.
St. Bernardus Tackers over the years
St. Bernardus Brewery production facility
After the tour we were greeted by Marco who gave us a behind-the-scenes look at some parts of the brewery that the general public does not get to see (sorry, no pics).
On to Mont Des Cats
Later that day we took a short bus ride into France to visit Mont des Cats a small hill that is home to the Mont des Cats abbey. The hill is named after a German tribe that lived in this area in the 5th century, known as the Chatti.
The view from Mont des Cats
In 2011, Mont des Cats became the first French Trappist abbey to brew its own beer - although the beer is not brewed here, it’s brewed in Belgium.
Mont des Cats French Trappist Beer
Better known for its cheese, which has been produced by the monks since 1890, there were no free samples of the beer on our visit.
The area around the abbey is known for its spectacular views of the French and Belgian countryside, along with hiking trails that run up and down the mount. Unfortunately, our time was limited, so we did not get to explore much.
Hiking trail map at Mont des Cats
Westvleteren
The world-renowned Westvleteren Trappist Brewery sits beside the Saint Sixtus Abbey and is surrounded by fields. Often, Westvleteren beers are ranked amongst the world’s best, particularly Westvleteren 12. Sitting just a few miles from Mont des Cats, we got an opportunity for a short visit.
Part of the allure of Westvleteren brews is their scarcity. The monks brew in small quantities to support operations at the abbey. These beers are not widely distributed and are not available in the United States.
Westvleteren 12 Belgian Strong Ale
If you want to buy large quantities at the abbey, customers are limited to how much they can purchase (details here). I was told they even record license plates to ensure there is no cheating.
The empties at Westvleteren
There is a relationship between these beers and those brewed at St. Bernardus as there was a split many years ago. Recipes for some brews are similar, but the yeast used is certainly different, giving St. Bernardus brews a sweeter profile, while Westvleteren brews are considered spicy.
With limited time on our schedule, those of us at our table decided to get a full pour of the most renowned brew, Westvleteren 12, while also ordering additional bottles of 8 and the Blonde Ale to share.
Mission accomplished at Westvleteren!
It was also highly recommended that we try the ice cream which is made with their beer - I’m not a big ice cream fan, but this was the highlight of my visit.
Sam enjoying the Westvleteren ice cream made with their Belgian Strong Ale.
While the 12, 8 and Blonde ale are all great brews, I do prefer the sweeter profile of the St. Bernardus beers over each of these.
At Westvleteren there are no tours of the brewery.
After some ice cream we headed back to Watou for a party at Bar Bernard, featuring some of the Belgian beer world’s biggest stars including Julie Depypere of St. Bernardus, Morgana Verhaeghe (5th generation family member of the Verhaeghe Brewery which brews the famous Duchesse de Bourgogne) and Bruno Leroy of the Leroy Breweries (which brews the Kapittel brands, along with Poperings and more).
If you ever get a change to visit the West Flanders part of Belgium, I highly recommend it! It is home to some of the greatest breweries in the world and should be on every Belgian beer lovers bucket list!
Cheers,
Rob Jacik (President & Owner, Carolina Beer Temple)