Belgium s beer brewing Trappist monks face recruitment crisis
Achel brewery has lost their Authentic Trappist Product label after last two monks retire with no one to replace them
Some of Belgium s Trappist beers
Credit: AFP
Belgium’s world famous Trappist beers are under threat from a crippling shortage of new monks to replace its ageing brewing brothers.
The recruitment crisis has already led to one brewery, Achel, losing its Authentic Trappist Product label after the last two monks at the St Benedict s Abbey in the province of Limburg, close to the Dutch border, retired.
There are about 100 Cistercian monks brewing in Belgium, which is the spiritual home of the Trappist beers and, until recently, boasted almost half of the world’s 14 Trappist breweries.