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UK Trappist beer-brewing monks struggling with demand

The only monks in the UK to brew an officially recognised Trappist beer say they are unable to satisfy demand.

The brewery at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, near Coalville, Leicestershire, was set up one year ago.

Since then, it has produced about 30,000 bottles of Tynt Meadow but there have been worldwide requests for more.

The brewery is one of only 14 in the world allowed to call itself a Trappist brewery - where all the money raised is used to fund the monastery.

The beer - named after the meadow where monks settled in 1835 - is sold at the abbey shop and by some local retailers, but about a third is sold through a distribution company. It is proving particularly popular in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The monks also drink it themselves on a Sunday.

Father Joseph Delargy said: "We haven't had any difficulty in selling it. What we produce, we can sell. 

"We have a pattern of regular production and regular sales so now, after this first year, we're in a position where we're quite happy."

Abbott of the monastery, Erik Varden, said they had been approached by retailers around the world wanting to stock the beer including in the US, Russia and New Zealand. 

However, with the monks' way of life having to take priority, he said they were "unable to satisfy the demand".

He hopes enough money can be raised from beer sales over the next two years to replace a leaky roof on a section of the abbey.

A Leicester documentary maker is producing a film about the monks which he said covers "the transition of their lifestyle as farmers to brewers". It is due to be released in autumn.

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