Trappistenbrouwerij Westvleteren

In 1814, Jan-Baptist Victoor settled as a hermit in the woods of Westvleteren, where monastic communities had already established themselves at that time. The history of Saint-Sixtus Abbey begins when some monks from the French Abbey of Mont-des-Cats joined the hermit in 1831.

In addition to their monastic activities, the monks worked the fields around the abbey, made cheese..., to provide for their livelihood. Quite early on, beer was also brewed on a very small scale, not to sell but for personal consumption.

The cash book of the Sint-Sixtus Abbey shows that in June 1838 the first expenses were made for a brewery.