Best Beer in the World (?)

Hot Knives: Some people consider this the best beer in the world, what do you think about that?
Belgian roommate: It’s just a beer.
If 2007 was the year we fell madly for Belgian beers — where we idealized the stuff righteously and it could do no wrong — well, then, 2008 mighta been the year that our thirsty lust cooled to just a fond appreciation. We still love it… like a friend. How’d our agape fall back down to earth? Besides buying up a growing explosion of awesome California beers, we owe thanks to our found-friend Korneel VanRemortel.
Let us explain. Last year, when our chum Molly vacationed in Morocco, she met Korneel who was working there as an architect. She left, moved back to the states, and a year or so later Korneel followed to Los Angeles. One of us had a room in our house so voila: a Belgian roommate. He pulled up to the house carrying only two suitcase — and one of them was beer.
Not just any beer, mind you. The beer: Westvleteren. Heard about it? Our gift was packed in a carrying case emblazoned with space-age monks. A few nondescript brown bottles aged either 8 months or 12 months rattled around inside. We got giddy and hid them because it is not a beverage that gets exported. Korneel is fair and pale, small-boned and pointy, and wears nice brimmed hats. He is both curious and unimpressed with stuff. One of the first targets of this bemusement was the Hot Knives reverence for Belgian beers — and for the rare Westvleteren in particular. Our enthusiasm downright confounded him. And so began our new nuanced appreciation for Belgium and its more talked-about beers.
So is it the best beer in the world? Not exactly. But it is a drink to behold. In pure, red-blooded American fashion, Hot Knives decided to put the thing to an empirical test: the blind taste test face-off.