The best beer in the world

We visited the St Sixtus Monastery in Westvleteren, where they brew "the best beer in the world" - Westvleteren 12. There's a large cafe, where you can get cheese, pate, croques, and beer (blond, bruin, and 12). Have to say we were a little underwhelmed by the Westvleteren 12, but very glad to have tried it. You can buy up to 12 bottles per person to take away from the cafe, and many people there had boxes on their tables. If you want to buy more bottles you have to register, and turn up to collect it at an allotted time. This is the queue of cars that was forming, waiting for the gates to open at 1.30 before they could drive up to the side entrance of the monastery to collect their order. Surprisingly busy for a Tuesday afternoon in December, I thought! The guide book said that the cafe would be full of little old ladies knocking back strong beer like it was cups of tea. We scoffed, but there actually were quite a lot of older ladies there enjoying a drink. I think the monastery cafe has capitalised on the magic formula of plenty of free parking right outside, and plenty of tables to sit at inside. A lot like a typical garden centre in the UK.