The Netherlands is set to lose one of its two Trappist beers now that the Noord-Brabant abbey Maria Toevlucht (Mary of refuge) in Zundert will close because of a lack of monks.

Zundert beer may still be produced at the abbey’s De Kievit brewery but it will no longer be allowed to be called a Trappist beer. “Trappist beer can only bear that name if the brewery is part of an abbey community,” a spokesman for the abbey told RTL Nieuws.

The abbey, founded in 1900 to provide refuge for French monks fleeing the secularisation laws after the French Revolution, is now home to just six monks. “We have come to the conclusion that a vibrant and sustainable abbey life is no longer viable,” the spokesman said.

The monks have asked the church authorities for permission to close the abbey. If that permission is granted, the abbey will close its doors in September.

The only other Trappist beer in the Netherlands is made is at the Koningshoeve abbey in Berkel-Enschot, also in Noord-Brabant. It produces the popular La Trappe beers.