Brewed force
How a small, unremarkable country came to dominate the world of beermaking
THE Trappist Abbey of St Sixtus of Westvleteren has little to offer those wishing to gawp at ecclesiastical architecture. The 19th-century buildings—squat, brick and functional—sit on a quiet country lane amid flat farmland, close to Belgium's border with France. Yet the vast visitors' car park is a clue that some people nevertheless consider the abbey worth a trip. For beer lovers, St Sixtus is a place of pilgrimage.
This article appeared in the Christmas Specials section of the print edition under the headline “Brewed force”
Christmas Specials
December 17th 2011- How Luther went viral
- The Company that ruled the waves
- Frog-hunters of the Western Ghats
- The game
- A path through time immemorial
- The faith (and doubts) of our fathers
- How Luther went viral
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- Pirate, colonist, slave
- A Riche history
- Little red card
- Sun Tzu and the art of soft power
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From the December 17th 2011 edition
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