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I'm looking to order some beer online from some Trappist Belgian breweries. Shipping internationally, obviously, to Washington State in the USA. What are the best (e.g., cheapest, most reliable) sites from which to order?
Edit: This is for Trappist Breweries that don't distribute to the US (e.g., Westvleteren, Cantillon)
Why do you want to have Belgium Trappist beers or ales shipped from all that distance?
I live in BC and visit Bevmo several times a year in Bellingham, Washington. There are 10 Bevmo outlets in the State of Washington. They carry Belgium Trappist beer and ales. If a particular store does not have the variety on location, they will order it for you from another branch. This can be done online! I would only order internationally if the particular variety could not be purchased in the USA.
Here is the link to Bevmo.
I think Westvleteren will not really be possible. It is already very hard to get them here in belgium. One has to register by phone to get a date and hour. You can only reserve 2 crates (42 euros each) and this at most once every 60 days per phone number and car. It is very rare for them to even sell it somewhere other than the brewery.
Aside from the exclusiveness of the whole thing, there are reasons that Trappist beers aren't all shipped across the pond, and then across an entire continent.
While I don't doubt the abilities of the brewmasters to make an excellent, viable product, beer simply doesn't survive trans-atlantic voyages too terribly well - this was, as the story goes, the reason for the rise of the IPA. Heat/cold cycles, excess motion, and all of the horrors of transporting beer over long distances have incredibly deleterious effects on the quality.
@Arthur D and @Ken Graham are spot-on, and I would add to what they say; trust that the brewery knows best, in this case. You're on the west coast? There are some great monastic beers available from the Abbey of New Clairveaux (sp?), and you might be able to get Spencer occasionally.
But, really... why not take a world beer trip? I heartily recommend Belgium. The beer is second to none.
