For some, this Belgian town is beer heaven

Beer and Belgium. For many the beauty in this pint-sized country lies in the vast variety of brews. You could try a different one every day until 2007.

“It’s like the top 10 things you want to do in your life. It’s like going to the Great Wall of China,” said Gordon Strong.

Gordon Strong works in computers, but beer is his passion. He and other American beer judges, brewers, beer geeks and hopheads are on their dream vacation. A week of lambics, pilsners, blondes and browns, getting up early to sniff and sip their way through Belgium, crisscrossing the country on a liquid pilgrimage.

This is Belgium’s King of beers: Trappist ales, brewed by monks since the Middle Ages. A small but devoted operation and sparkling spring water the essential ingredient.

Brother Xavier oversees the famous Orval Brewery, where monks are driven by reverence, not revenue.

“We celebrate God with the care we put into our work,” said Brother Xavier.

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The beer voted the world’s best is brewed in the tiny village of Westvleteren, and the camera-shy monks who make it limit quantity to ensure quality.  A beer so rare, there’s a thriving black market. The lucky ones with bottles of St. Sixtus jealously guard their hoard.

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

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We've missed it. We finally find two bottles in the trunk of a car. A beer so good, it doesn't need a label.

But our beer judges say it's the taste. Centuries of care and tradition, no wonder aficionados call it The Holy Grail of beer.