Island monks restore abbey ale habit

Goddards, the oldest working brewery on the Isle of Wight, has teamed up with Cistercian monks at Quarr Abbey on the island to brew a strong abbey beer that uses herbs and spices grown in the abbey grounds. The beer is a recreation of the type of beer brewed by monks before the universal use of hops.

Quarr Abbey Ale is the second abbey beer brewed in Britain and follows in the footsteps of the Benedictine monks at Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire, who use an authentic Elizabethan recipe for a beer brewed for them by Little Valley Brewery.

Goddards was launched in 1993 by Anthony and Alix Goddard at Barnsley Farm, with brewing carried out by Jonathan Stancil, former head brewer at Burt’s on the island. Brewing took place in an 18^th-century barn with a 15-barrel plant. The Goddards have now handed over the running of the brewery to Anthony’s son-in-law Patrick Birley and the size of the plant has been quadrupled. The brewery is best known for its Fuggle-De-Dum premium ale but has a range of beers that includes Ale of Wight and Wight Squirrel.

Quarr Abbey was founded in 1132 by monks who came to the island from Normandy. The abbey’s name comes from a nearby quarry. Some of the monks were doctors and pharmacists and they tended to sick people on the island. In 1147 the abbot and his priests joined the Cistercian branch of the Benedictine order.

The abbey was closed by Henry VIII in 1536 and the buildings were wrecked. In 1901 monks came to the area from France and bought Quarr Abbey House next to the ruins. The house was used regularly by Queen Victoria and other members of the royal family. One of the monks, Dom Paul Bellot, was an architect and he was commissioned to design a new monastery and church, which were consecrated in 1912.

The abbey is open to visitors and has tea rooms and a shop where bottles of Quarr Abbey Ale can be purchased.

The 6.5% beer is described, in the monastic tradition, as “liquid bread”. It’s brewed with English barley malt and hops and island water. Sweet gale and coriander, grown in the abbey’s allotments, are added for authentic aroma and flavour.

It has a superb aroma of malted bread, spices and peppery hops with hints of marzipan and sultanas. Dark fruits, rich nutty malt, spices and herbs fill the mouth followed by a bittersweet finale with juicy malt, herbs and spices and a solid underpinning of tangy hops.

The beer can be bought from the brewery shop: www.goddardsbrewery.com 24 bottles, 330ml, for £70.

Quarr Abbey: www.quarrabbey.co.uk.