St. Bernardus Brewery

St. Bernardus is a Belgian brewery in the west flanders between Poperinge city; it is located in the municipality Watou. The brewery is a member of the Company BELGIAN FAMILY BREWERS.

History

The brewery story begins with an anti- clerical policy of France in the late 19th century, which prompted the monks of the Abbaye du Monts des Cats to settle in the Belgian municipality Watou on a farm and to establish the Refuge Notre Dame de St. Bernard there. The monks would come here for the old tradition of the Trappists - to fund monastic activities - a cheese production. After the political situation in France had improved again, the monks gave up their possessions in Watou 1934 and returned to France. The cheese factory was taken over by Evariste Deco Nick, but also its own production was built in Watou, where he joined a brewery.

Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the monastery of St. Sixtus decided in Vleteren to set the commercial production of their Trappistenbieres Westvleteren and within the monastery walls only for personal use - to brew beer - and beyond only for a few nearby inns. Mr. Deconinck acquired simultaneously by the monks, the license to be able to brew the Trappist according to the original recipe for 30 years and sell commercially. Deco Nick was next to his cheese factory to build a new brewery and took over production of the licensed Trappistenbieres under the name of Sixtus on with the help of a master brewer from Westvleteren. In the early 1960s, reached Deconincks son Claus, who continued the family business from this period, an extension of the brewing license for another 30 years; 1992 ran out of this License. A further extension did not materialize because the six Trappist monasteries in Belgium and the Netherlands in a Trappist monastery had jointly decided and obligation to accept the designation Trappist exclusively only for those beers that were brewed within each monastery walls; this, the guaranteed designation of origin Bière was taken Trappist on the bottles. The beer and the brewery in Watou was for this reason in 1990 in St. Bernardus - in allusion to the former Refuge de Notre Dame de St. Bernard - renamed. Other beer brands were added later.

Brands

  • St. Bernardus Abt 12 (10.5%)
  • St. Bernardus Prior 8 (8 %)
  • St. Bernardus Pater 6 (6.7%)
  • St. Bernardus Tripel (8%)
  • St. Bernardus Witbier (5.5%)
  • Watou Tripel (7.5%)
  • Grottenbier (6.5%)

Gallery

Original glass

Catering serving

St. Bernardus Abt 12

Trappist beer Westvleteren Brewery Beer in Belgium
743639
de