If Trappist beer has a royal family, Westmalle sits very close to the throne.

The brewery operates within the Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Westmalle, Belgium, where Trappist monks have been brewing since the nineteenth century. As with all authentic Trappist breweries, production remains under monastic supervision and profits support both the abbey and charitable work.

Westmalle is responsible for some of the most influential beers ever brewed. The famous Tripel, first developed in 1934, effectively established the template for the modern Tripel style. Golden, strong and remarkably elegant, it combines ripe fruit, spice, soft malt character and a famously dry finish. The Dubbel remains equally respected, offering darker fruit, caramel, spice and deep malt complexity.

What makes Westmalle extraordinary is balance. Despite the strength of the beers, everything feels measured and refined. Generations of brewing experience have a habit of producing that effect.

Trappist beer often gets discussed with a certain reverence. Westmalle is one of the reasons that reverence exists in the first place.