Beer From Heaven? Monk-Made Beer Finally For Sale In US

It's either a blessing from above, or a curse: a blessing if you can get your hands on the newly released Westvleteren XII, made by monks, and a curse if the store ran out before you got to it. 

The beer world stopped short yesterday over the release of the beer, reports Beer Pulse and NPR. Usually, this beer is only available at Saint Sixtus Abbey in Belgium; now, it's selling for about $85 for a six-pack and two glasses in select U.S. stores.

Why sell now (for a hefty price)? The abbey needed expensive renovations, and the monks needed the funds to do so. But after this shipment of beers to pay off the renovations, the brewery says the may not be exported to the U.S. again. "[The monks] say, 'We are monks, we don't want to be too commercial. We needed some money to help us buy the new abbey and that's it,'" spokesperson for the brewer Mark Bode explained to NPR.

The Trappist ale itself has been called a "heavy, dark sweet beer." The brewery brews about 3,800 U.S. barrels every year, so quantities were limited. Beer Pulse and other outlets said it's most likely sold out by now — so if you see anyone bragging on Twitter about it, you better start making some pleading calls now.