The world’s rarest beer which was brewed by monks is being sold – for £25 a bottle.
The 10.2 per cent strength Westvleteren, which is brewed at a Trappist monastery in Belgium, is so scarce that bosses at the Post Office Vaults Pub in Birmingham have put three bottles in their locked vault.
The ale can’t be ordered by landlords so the pub’s co-owner Mike Perkins, 28, had to travel to the monastery to pick up a case of just 30 bottles personally.
Drinkers are being charged a jaw-dropping £25 per 500ml bottle.
Mike, who runs the watering hole with business partner Nigel Barker, said: “It’s incredibly hard to get hold of.
“You can’t order it you have to go to the monastery.
“But it’s worth the trouble. Westvleteren is superb.”
The rare ale has been brewed inside the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren in the Belgian municipality of Vleteren, near Ypres, since 1838.
Monks produce just 60,000 cases each year and sell them to support the monastery.
Their beer isn’t advertised and bottles aren’t labelled – instead all legally required information is printed on the cap.
Mike, who also runs a pub in Leeds, added: “The crate is really sexy, a wooden casket with burnt lettering.
“We’re over the moon. It has gone much better than we expected.”
The pub, which specialises in Belgian beer was formerly a sorting office of the Royal Mail before being closed in 1968.
Westvleteren is just one of 100 varieties of Belgian beer available at their watering hole.
In total, they sell 268 ales – including brands from Germany, Austria and Estonia.
There are also eight British real ales and 14 ciders available at the boozer.
