Advent Calendar 6/24 - Tokyo Beer

What is the common link between the French revolution and lobbyists?

Quickly open the pretty can this evening so I can explain it all to you.

Saint-Bernardus Tokyo is a beer halfway between white beers and seasonal beers.

It was brewed for the first time in 2012 for the opening of the beer bar "Sint-Bernardus Café" in Tokyo. In 2020, the brewery slightly modified the recipe and made it a permanent beer in the range.

It is nicely decorated by an artist from East Flanders who illustrates the Japanese streets lit with lanterns which are typical in the Kanda district where the bar is located.

But back to the revolution and the lobbyists.

A few decades after the revolution, the French anti-clerical movement gained momentum. The monastic community of Catsberg sets sail to East Flanders and settles in the village of Watou.

A brewery and a cheese factory were created.

In the 20th century, the community returned to France and a lay person took over the food activities. In 1945, the famous Sint-Sixtus Abbey subcontracted the production of its beer, Westvleteren, known throughout the world as the best beer in the world (it is extremely difficult to find).

In 1992, the different Trappist abbeys came together and negotiated the creation of the “Authentic Trappist Product” label.

Result?

Trappist beers must be strictly brewed within the walls of the abbey.

The Westvleteren beers are moving again so that the Trappist monks do not lose their precious financial windfall and the brewery which finds itself without beer has since continued to produce almost the same beers but under the better known (and less exclusive) name of Sint- Bernardus.

I find it quite funny to see such a modern canned beer next to such classic bottled beers with the head of a monk on top.