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BBC just recently visited Westvleteren and sampled the "12".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/realmedia/sunday/s20050821b.ram<
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Nice one John White, good to see a beer tourist getting on the radio :)
I’m not so sure that more Westy press is a great thing though.
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can’t read thje article for some reason, my computer sucks where i am, but if John Whites involved, its all good.
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Cool.
You need Real Player to listen to the article.
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kinda off topic, but you look like my dad in your user photo.
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Who’s your daddy? Not I, young Duffwalker.
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Nice work on this one. Sure beats the sensationalism of some of the posts I’ve seen on the subject. It’s a beer, it’s got a great story and it tastes great. People should try it. They should not bother the monks about it. The way they approached it - just going to the visitor’s centre and In de Vrede - is a great example.
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Yes, I was in two minds about doing the broadcast, as I was aware that the monks did not want too much publicity, but decided it was important to counter some of the nonsense that had been written in media around the world. I mentioned RateBeer by name in my interview, but this was cut from the final broadcast, but I did manage to get it mentioned in a follow-up story in my local newspaper, the Grimsby Telegraph, see
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A34242FAB
This has me at home with a crate of Westvleteren 12, pouring myself a glass!
Regards and Cheers!
John White.
PS. my St.-Sixtus Web page can be seen at
http://www.whitebeertravels.com/sixtus
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Thanks John.
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I was there last Wednesday when the newest batch of Westvleteren 12 was released. It was CRAZY. I saw a bunch of German, French and Belgian television crews. We arrived there at 8:00 (shop opens at 10:00) and there was already a waiting line of about 150 cars. 2 hours later there was a waiting line of a couple of kilometers. We got lucky: the monks decided to keep their shop open until 12:30 (it normally closes at 12:00) and we just managed to get in and get hold of 2 cases (the maximum obviously). We also bought a couple of bottles and ’present boxes’ in In De Vrede, so it was quite a succesful trip overall for us.
Something that can’t be said about the hundreds of cars waiting in line after us :).
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The problem, of course, is that the more it comes on television, the more people will notice it and the crazier the waiting lines will get, resulting in even more television coverage. It’s a vicious circle, and I sincerely hope they snap out of it soon.
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