Monks furious about Dutch supermarket selling Trappist beer

Monks from the Belgian Saint Sixtus Abbey are furious with Dutch supermarket chain Jan Linders for selling their Trappist beer without permission, Belgian broadcaster VRT reports.

Jan Linders sold around 300 crates with 24 bottles each of the beer for 9.95 euros per bottle on Thursday, according to the Limburger. The beer from Westelveen is normally only sold at the Abbey itself for a fraction of that price. Only private individuals can buy the beer, and only for their own use.

"We heard the news through the media, and are shocked enormously", a spokesperson for the Abbey said to the broadcaster. "We regret that this happened, this is not in line with the values and vision of our community."

On Thursday a spokesperson for Jan Linders told De Limburger that the supermarket got permission from the Abbey to sell the beer once. "Thanks to our partners we have succeeded in acquiring Westvleteren beer", spokesperson Gineke Wilms told the newspaper. She would not say who these "partners" are, but did emphasize that Jan Linders sees it as a privilege to be able to sell these beers.