Monks from the Belgian abbey of Sint Sixtus are furious that a small Dutch supermarket chain is selling its Trappist beer without permission.

The Jan Linders supermarket group has bought 300 wooden crates of the beer, each containing 24 bottles, and is selling them at €9.95 a bottle, according to Belgian website VRT.

The beer is normally only sold directly to the public for a fraction of the price.

‘We are shocked that this has happened,’ a spokesman for the abbey told the broadcaster. ‘This does not fit in with the values and vision of our community.’

Jan Linders operates 60 supermarkets in the south of the country. A spokesman told the Limburger on Thursday that the supermarket group had managed to get hold of the beer, ‘thanks to our partners’ but declined to give further details.

The Sint Sixtus beer has a cult status among beer lovers and there is a waiting list for supplies.