Country Monks Brewing is now offering its beer for sale at two Arkansas locations beyond Subiaco Abbey, a first for the small brewery based at the monastery.
The beers brewed by Benedictine Monks can be bought at Sodie's Wine and Spirits in Fort Smith and at Circle S Foods in Paris. Plans are for the beer to be available in Fayetteville and Rogers soon.
Brother Sebastian Richey, a brewer with Country Monks, said Sodie's approached the brewery about selling its beer some six months ago. After four months of pondering the feasibility of the move, the monks began to work on a plan.
"My concern is that we'd have enough beer every week," Brother Sebastian said.
The brewery added a third bright tank, allowing them to can beer three times a week in an assembly line of sorts they've dubbed "The three-monk process." The brewery currently produces 27 cases of beer a week.
The monks added the canning line in December of 2019. Prior to that they canned by hand.
Brother Sebastian said off-site sales will give more people a chance to try their beer, while providing product for folks who might be too far away for a quick hop to the taproom or provide an opportunity for sales during the week when the taproom is usually closed.
That said, he added, the monks are hoping folks who try their beer off-site will visit their taproom and become regulars. Country Monks is hosting a tasting event on April 22 between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Sodie's.
"Our goal is to provide our beer to the folks who want it," Bother Sebastian said of the push into off-site sales.
Country Monks runs a small taproom where it sells its beer in cans and by the glass on the grounds of Subiaco Abbey in Logan County. It's open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. After April 24, it will be open 1 p.m.-4 p.m. on Sundays. The taproom is also open throughout the week by appointment made via social media.
The brewery was founded by Brother Basil Taylor, who still sits on its board. The operation is run with a mix of Benedictine monks and laypeople who volunteer to help. Country Monks Brewing operates under a small brewery permit that was issued in October 2018. The abbey also is known for its hot sauce and candles.
Profits from the brewery support the ministries of the abbey
Country monks brews and cans four flagship beers -- Abby Amber, Peters Chair Pale Ale, Scholastic Stout and IsidorIrish Red -- all being offered for offsite sales. The flagships also are available in the taproom along with True Grit Ale -- an oatmeal stout -- as well as seasonal beers.
Arkansas craft brewers produced 38,066 barrels of beer in 2020, down nearly 7% from 2019's record production of 40,819 barrels, according to information provided by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Beer production jumped 16% in 2019 when compared with the year before. A barrel of beer contains 31 gallons.
The Arkansas Brewers Guild has 44 member breweries, plus eight guild member breweries in the planning stages. There are at least 6 non-guild member breweries operating currently, according to the organization.
Country Monks produced 55 barrels of beer in 2018, increased production significantly to 96 barrels in 2019, and saw production drop to 60 barrels in 2020 according to state records, mirroring Arkansas' trends
In March of 2020, Arkansas saw its first covid-19 cases, followed by mandated closures of restaurants -- key customers for many craft breweries. Closures also hit breweries' taprooms -- another key source of income for many operations. Some Arkansas brewers shifted their focus to distributing their beer in cans to stay open.
Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers Association, a nonprofit trade group that supports small and craft brewing, said monk run breweries are popular but rare. According to the website buildingcatholicculture.com, three years ago there were six active breweries in the U.S. linked to monasteries, including Country Monks Brewing.
Watson called distribution of the Country Monk brew into a few outlets fairly close to a small brewery's taproom a common but vital step in the life of a brewery.
He said the ability for breweries to distribute their own product, without going through a middle-man, allowed operations like Country Monks to draw attention to their product and get it into the hands of customers who aren't geographically nearby. Watson said around 35 states, including Arkansas, with proper permitting, allow some sort of self-distribution by beer makers.
Tony Guinn is the co-owner of Gravity BrewWorks in Big Flat in Baxter County and is the president of the Arkansas Brewers Guild. In response to emailed questions, she said the state's smaller breweries are hanging in there in the face of rising prices for most of the things they used to produce beer, from cans and lids, to grain. Others are facing labor shortages.
She said the covid lockdowns and the months following have a lot of smaller brewers exploring packaging and distributing their product offsite.
Brother Sebastian said Country Monks will consider offering its beer in more off-site locations based on the results of this initial rollout. He said these first steps have been driven by demand but the monks are cautious about being able to produce enough quality product to support both the taproom patrons and off-site needs.
"We're right at the beginning of brand new," he said.
Cans of beer from Country Monks Brewing are for sale on Wednesday at Sodie’s Wine and Spirits in Fort Smith. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)