After Chimay in 2013 and Rochefort last year, Westmalle is in turn expanding its range by now offering one of its beers until then reserved for Trappist monks and their visitors: the Extra will be marketed alongside the Triple , the most popular with amateurs, and the Double.
The Westmalle brewery’s annual production was 120,000 hectoliters, according to the latest figures released. “The brews are too big for the abbey to drink alone,” Westmalle explains.
The Westmalle Extra has a light alcoholic strength of 4.8%, which is two times less than the Triple (9.5%). It naturally benefits from the Authentic Trappist label, since it is brewed in the Abbey of Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur in Westmalle under the supervision of monks.
This announcement comes two months after the decision of the same Abbey Notre-Dame du Sacré-Coeur had decided to renounce this name for the Trappist Achel, this time brewed at the Saint-Benoît d’Achel brewery because the last two monks of this community joined Westmalle last summer. One of the conditions required to benefit from the logo was no longer met.