West Yorkshire beer distributor James Clay and Sons has partnered with Westmalle Trappist Brewery to bring Westmalle Extra to the UK for the very first time.
The brewery
Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle, (a.k.a. Westmalle Brewery), is a Trappist Brewery within the walls of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Heart of Westmalle in Belgium. Founded in 1794 by Monks of the Order of Cistercians, monks of Westmalle Abbey have dedicated themselves to a communal life of prayer and work – including the highly regarded cheese dairy and brewery.
The beer
Westmalle Extra is the beer brewed by the monks for consumption with their meals. It’s a top-fermented 4.8% golden ale designed to be thirst-quenching, full of fruity aromas, and full-bodied. Brewed only with whole-cone noble hops and, unlike the Tripel and Dubbel, without any brewing sugar additions. Extra is bottled unpasteurised and is refermented in the bottle, too. This beer was previously exclusively for the monks, with lucky guests of the abbey occasionally being offered a glass.
James Clay & Sons founder, Ian Clay said “Westmalle beers stand out…Over the years we have got closer to the abbey and they have been enthusiastic to work with us to increase sales and ensure their beer is well presented and represented in the UK. It is without doubt an honour to have such great beers in our range.”
On his first visit to the Abbey, Ian was invited to join the monks for lunch, including a glass of Extra. ‘It was perfect at lunchtime, refreshing, not too strong at 4.8% with plenty of flavour.’ To Ian, it was immediately clear that this beer would be a great addition to the UK beer scene. However, at the time the monks felt that it would bring too much pressure on the production team, affecting their work/life balance, and mean extra environmental and noise pollution. Thankfully, they’ve since managed to figure out a way to bring Extra to commercial production and remain faithful to their principles. And we can’t wait to try it!
Westmalle Extra is released in the UK from today and will be available from all good beer outlets.