Craft Beer Travel & Adventure · Living a Stout Life

Brouwerij St. Bernardus: Embracing History, Crafting the Future

·59 min·4 clips

Hosts Ken and April visit St. Bernardus Brewery in Watou, Belgium, where marketing consultant Peter Verdonck unpacks the brewery's century-long history — from Trappist monks fleeing French taxes, to a licensing arrangement with Sint Sixtus Abbey (Westvleteren), to becoming an independent world-class brewery after the license ended in 1992. The episode covers the ongoing debate about whether St. Bernardus Abt 12 and Westvleteren 12 are the same beer, the challenge of balancing a legendary past with a forward-looking identity, and what makes St. Bernardus a standout destination brewery with a guest house, rooftop bar, and hop-field views.

As heard by us

A beer history story rooted in place, licensing, and a brewery trying to move past its old name.

Brouwerij St. Bernardus comes across as a traditional Belgian brewery still carrying the weight of old disputes and labels people keep attaching to it.

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Why you'd press play

When a Belgian brewery tries to move past the history everyone already knows.

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