Westvleteren is coming to the U.S.
You read that correctly. For the first (and more than likely) only time in history, Westvleteren beers will be bottled, shipped and legally sold on U.S. soil.
Widely regarded as the maker of some of the most coveted beers in the world, the brewery will ship a limited amount of product to the U.S. in an attempt to raise money for an aging monastery in need of repairs and also planning and expansion.
Daniel Shelton, of Shelton Brothers Importers confirmed that next April, he will be importing 7760 special ‘gift-pack’ units from the Belgium-based brewery and monastery. The packs contain six bottles of beer and two, 15cl glasses.
Shelton is still working out the exact details of the deal and could not yet confirm what the suggested retail price of the gift pack will be or which markets will receive the beer. Shelton is based in Belchertown, Mass.
Undoubtedly, the gift packs will sell for considerably less than what the “grey market” is offering at this time on auction sites like eBay.
Additionally, Shelton mentioned that Manneken-Brusel Imports out of Austin, TX would also be importing an undisclosed amount of the beer into the U.S market.
All of the proceeds from the packs sold into the U.S. market will help fund the rebuilding and expansion of the Westvleteren monastery. Westvleteren made about 4,500 hectoliters of beer last year (approximately 3,800 U.S. barrels).
The Shelton Brothers import beers from approximately 100 different breweries into the U.S. market.