Monks are fed up with the illegal beer trade!

[Trappist]

Hi,
Interesting news from the Belgian trappist beer scene!

https://tinyurl.com/bd549yba

Is that a good or bad decision?
I have my doubts 

Cheers,
Filip

[Viv]

Hi Filip,

I recently noticed Putty for sale in a local craft beer shop/bar, so probably a lot of these one-offs/exlusives get in the hands of retailers/sharks/cretins who primarily buy not to enjoy the brew but simply to try to make money from reselling. C'est la vie unfortunately.

The St.Sixtus monks have noted this behaviour worldwide which has been going on since ratebeer had their beer at No.1. Not sure why the monks have picked on Holland but I think if you live there it is a fantastic idea indeed. Simple- arrive at the beershop, pay a sensible price, take home and enjoy. No phoning the brewery, driving to collect, etc, etc.
But the beershops may need to limit the number of bottles sold to individuals otherwise they leave the opportunity wide open for people to profit again.

Hype, exploitation, and greed eh! What a world!

Cheers!



Viv
   

[John B]

Have the monks at Westvleteren ever said why they haven't ever sold their beers in stores before this? All the other Trappist beer makers have for years. What's the point in not selling them in retail establishments, especially since it seems to be working out well for the others?

And as for this Dutch experiment, I'm picturing long lines of beer lovers outside every store that sells the Westvleteren, and the supply running out in a matter of minutes. And as Viv pointed out, what's to stop those people who manage to get some bottles from reselling them later on for a big increase in price? Maybe even minutes later to those people who waited in line but were unable to get the beer because it sold out.

I'm wondering the same thing as you Filip, this may not be a good thing. I'd say either keep things as they were and only sell the beer at the abbey and In de Vrede, or open up another larger brewery and make enough beer to sell it commercially as all the other Trappist breweries do. But yeah I know, that supposedly goes against the monks wishes at Westvleteren. Which begs the question again, why do the monks at all the other Trappist breweries feel differently?   

Haven't Had a Westvleteren in Years Cheers! - John 

[Trappist]

Hello,
The main problem with Westvleteren is that they don't want to brew more than is necessary to make for their living.

240.000 bottles will go to the Netherlands!

That's really ALOT!

And see, I was trying to buy me some crates yesterday evening through their website.
I only had to wait for a couple of seconds to get through. A short happy moment 
Only the Blond was available and the 8 and 12 were already sold out.
That's the first time this happens to me. Surprise?
I quit the operation, because I really don't want to drive to Westvleteren for the blond trappistbeer only.
A good beer, yes, but not really what I want, i.e. the excellent Westvleteren Abt 12.

It's clear. For the local Belgians, it sure isn't some great news at all.

Cheers,
Filip

[Viv]

Hi Filip,

What percentage of their annual output is the 240,000 bottles?

I think they only brew every so often and a certain amount.

Despite our own frustrations we should still respect their ways, however
odd or out-dated they might appear, and admire them for standing up to modern day pressures. It's their choice and they never were set up to be a commercial enterprise; they are unique as regards Trappist breweries
are in that respect too.

Cheers to the Monks!


Viv

[Trappist]

What percentage of their annual output is the 240,000 bottles?

Actually, I don't know Viv, but it is quite a big figure that 240.000 bottles.
I completely understand your standpoint Viv.
But for me, it is if you buy something, it becomes your possession.
When it is from you (your possession), you can do what you want with it. because, it simply is "not" from the monks anymore.
The thing is that malafide people buy the Westvleteren at the abbey to resell at much higher prices.
This really needs to be done with more than 3 crates, so they have the trick to buy much much more with numerous different cars (different car plates).
There you have the real problem. It is on that level that the monks should act and prevent. Not easy I know.
But after all, that same bunch of malafide people will sell the cheaper westvleteren at the Dutch beer shops and actually will afterwards do the exact same thing, i.e. resell at much higher prices.
It simply is not the solution to the problem IMHO.... on the contrary 
Cheers,
Filip

[Viv]

Hi Filip,

According to their website they brew 7,000 hectolites per annum, and
brew on just 40 days of the year.

This figure equates to 2.1 Million bottles.

So they will be exporting 11% of their annual production to Holland,
which doesn't seem that high a figure.

The real problem is hype, exploitation and greed..... good luck trying
to eradicate that!

Cheers!



Viv   

[Trappist]

Hi Viv,
There is a sightly different figure on their other website: https://www.trappistwestvleteren.be/nl/historiek
Quote: "Die bedraagt jaarlijks ongeveer 6.000 hectoliter, gespreid over 42 brouwdagen."
That's about 1.818.181 bottles of 33cl. Very close to the 2.1 Million bottles though.
That gives a 13%, which is a bit higher than the 11% you calculated from the figures on their other website.
So, about 1 on 10 bottles go to the Netherlands. But nothing goes to the UK, France, Germany, name it.... 
Seems a bit unfair to me though 
But that could be that there is some kind of cooperation with La Trappe for distribution and logistics. Highly possible I think.

>>The real problem is hype, exploitation and greed..... good luck trying
to eradicate that!<<

There you said it Viv !!!

Cheers,
Filip