Ampleforth monks mix history, religion and malts in unique new beer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/19/ampleforth-abbey-brews-beer?newsfeed=true

Benedictine community in Yorkshire to sell Britain's first monastic beer since the Reformation

Martin Wainwright
Tuesday 19 June 2012 11.11 EDT



The monks pace serenely in their long black habits, to a background of chanted psalms and obedient students from Ampleforth College swotting for exams.

But beneath the peaceful surface of Ampleforth Abbey, in a lovely North Yorkshire valley, lies a commercial operation that is about to pull off a coup – Britain's first monastic beer since the Reformation, more than 450 years ago.

Tawny glasses of Ampleforth Abbey brew have circulated among testers for the past year and, following repeated tweaks of yeast and malt, the beer is to go to the market in July. The launch is eagerly awaited in drinking circles because of a heady mix of history, religion and the Benedictine order's formidable reputation in the field.

"We think we've got the taste and texture right," said Father Wulstan Peterburs, Ampleforth's procurator, whose job is to oversee St Benedict's rule that monks should be self-sufficient and busy in their worldly as well as spiritual lives. "The last time the order did this in a big way, in the 18th century, we were given a licence by Louis XIV to sell our beer everywhere in France. We're not being that ambitious but we think we've got a success on our hands."

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