Westy 12 appears to be coming back to the U.S.
All signs point a new U.S. release of Westvleteren XII, the legendary Belgium Trappist beer.
Westvleteren XII is a 10.2 percent ABV quadruple produced by Brouwerij Westvleteren in the Trappist Abbey of St. Sixtus located in Vleteren, Belgium.
While the ale has been sold at the abbey since 1940—and can be found in shops in Belgium—its one and only commercial release in the U.S. was back in 2012 when 90,000 bottles were shipped to the U.S. to help pay for renovations to the abbey.
It has been described by many as the best beer in the world.
Now, there’s evidence that it is returning.
Vinbrucke LLC, a Napa, Calif.-based distributor, recently received approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for 330ml bottles of Westvleteren XII.
The previous release was not simply bottled, but rather gift packs containing six 330ml bottles of the beer and two tasting glasses. It was limited to just 15,000 gift packs with distribution handled by Massachusetts-based Shelton Brothers.
Emails sent to both the brewery and the distributor for additional information were not immediately returned.