Bottles of Trappist Westvleteren to once again receive labels

Up until now, Trappist Westvleteren was the only Belgian beer to be sold without a label. However, that will change on Saturday. After more than 75 years, bottles of Trappist Westvleteren will once again be adorned with a label.

For beers, there is no legal obligation to mention the complete list of ingredients and the nutritional values, but the monks of St Sixtus Abbey decided internally to do so anyway. And all that information is impossible to include on the crown cap.

"The labels are, as it were, stylised images of the crown caps", explains Brother Godfrey, prior of St Sixtus Abbey. There are three label versions, one for each of the three Trappist beers of Westvleteren Abbey, which correspond to the well-known colour of the crown caps: green for the Blond, blue for the 8 and yellow for the 12.

The first crates with labelled bottles of both Westvleteren Blond, 8 and 12 will be brought into circulation as of Saturday. For the time being, the familiar, classic crown caps are still being placed on the bottles. As soon as the current stock of metal caps is used up, they will be replaced by crown caps with a new, simplified design that is fully in line with the labels.

Since 1838 Westvleteren is brewed in Flanders, at the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus in Vleteren. The three beers are not for sale in supermarkets, but are only available in small quantities that need to be reserved in advance. Westvleteren 12 is widely regarded as one of the best beers in the worlds and has won several awards over the years.

(TOM)

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