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Photos by Jonny Garrett
This editorially independent podcast has been supported by VISITFLANDERS as part of the “Game Changers” series of podcasts.
Jonny Garrett is the co-founder of The Craft Beer Channel and the author of several books about beer including Beer School, A Year in Beer, and his most recent book The Meaning of Beer. Jonny’s story about Westvleteren 12 was recently published on Belgian Smaak, and in this podcast, we talk to Jonny about what he discovered during the reporting and writing of the story.
Jonny gives us the ins and outs of a story that involves government intervention, decades-long licensing contracts, and Estonian festival pranks. It is perhaps the original example of hype in the beer world, shining a light on the often regrettable human obsession for the unobtainable. It’s a tale that sees entirely disparate lives collide, as new technology forced those who had chosen religious devotion above all else to interact with a naive and excitable global beer scene that, in one moment in 2005, exploded radioactively.
Underpinning the story of Westvleteren 12 lies one question which beer enthusiasts have never, and perhaps will never, answer: what’s the best beer in the world?
Sit back, listen, and enjoy our deep dive into Westvleteren 12.
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