The water used in brewing has a considerable influence on the quality of the beer. Hence for the Westmalle Trappist beer, the brewery takes its water from the Diestian layer, 60 metres underneath the abbey. The water that reaches this depth has been purified naturally by the sandy soil of the Campine.
Westmalle water is rich in minerals and this determines the quality of the Trappist beer to a great extent. The iron is first removed from the water in order to prevent cloudy beer. An excellent basis for the mash is thus obtained.
But the brewery also wants the surplus water to find an equally pure route back to nature. To this end, in 1968 - long before it was legally required - the brewery obtained its own water treatment plant.
