For most of the past 183 years, the Trappist monks of the Mount St Bernard monastery in rural Leicestershire were dairy farmers, selling their milk to fund a quiet, rhythmic existence of prayer and contemplation.

But in 2013 they were forced to face reality. The low price of milk and changes in agricultural production methods meant they could no longer make the small profit they had relied on for modest living expenses and to maintain their historic abbey.

One morning before dawn, the monks loaded their beloved cows on to lorries and sent them off to market. It was the end of an era. But they still needed to generate an income. Now, five years after saying goodbye to their cattle, the Mount St Bernard community is on the eve of a new business venture. Instead of producing milk, the monks are making beer.

Tomorrow the UK’s first Trappist beer, brewed in accordance with recipes dating back centuries, will go on sale at specialist bars and retailers. Tynt Meadow, a strong, dark ale named after the location of the monastery, has “aromas of dark chocolate, liquorice and rich fruit flavours”, according to promotional material.

“It has been a steep learning curve,” said Father Joseph, who has been at the monastery for 32 years. “We’re not big drinkers, just the occasional glass at Christmas, Easter and big feast days. When we started, we couldn’t detect the tastes the experts were talking about – all the beers tasted the same. But over time we’ve got more sophisticated. Now I can really tell the difference between them.”

The Mount St Bernard community was founded in a half-ruined cottage in Tynt Meadow in 1835. Their monastery – later raised to the status of an abbey – was designed by Augustus Pugin, the gothic revival architect who designed the interior of the Palace of Westminster. The community, which is a branch of the Cistercian order, receives no subsidies from the Catholic church for daily expenses or upkeep of buildings and grounds. The 26 monks rise at 3.15am for the first of seven services throughout the day, which ends with an 8pm bedtime. As well as worship and work, they spend time in private prayer, contemplation and study.

They produce pottery, candles, honey, rosaries, greeting cards, fruit and vegetables to sell in the abbey’s shop, as well as cooking, cleaning and doing laundry for the community and monastic guesthouse, and caring for elderly and sick brethren. Tasks are done “as quietly as possible”.

Once the monks “fell on the idea” of reviving a beer-making tradition, they had to find out how it was done, said Father Joseph. They practised with a home-brewing kit and sought advice from 11 other Trappist breweries in northern Europe as well as Constant Keinemans, a Dutch master brewer. The monks have tried to combine the traditions of Trappist brewers elsewhere with those of small local breweries in the UK. Over the past year, they have relocated their refectory, kitchen and laundry to create space for a new artisanal brewery. “It was an enormous project, probably the largest project Mount St Bernard has ever undertaken,” said Father Joseph.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mount St Bernard Abbey, Leicestershire. Photograph: © Bier! magazine

Beer was brewed at Mount St Bernard in the late 19th century. According to Father Joseph, “there is an account of chimney sweeps slaking their thirst after their dry and dusty work on beer brewed by the monks. Unfortunately we have been unable to find the recipe used for this beer, but we hope our beer will be worthy to join the long line of beer brewed in monastic brewhouses.”

Although they will keep production to a minimum, hoping only to meet their daily expenses and support charitable commitments, making beer is now their main activity, with every stage – brewing, bottling and packaging – carried out by monks. The beer is strong – 7.4% abv – and intended to be drunk more like a wine than downed in great quantities. “We feel it’s an extension of our hospitality,” said Father Joseph. Like all the monks, he has done many different types of work at the monastery, though now he is mainly responsible for plumbing and financial management, with some bread-baking. “You end up being quite versatile. We all learn from one another,” he said.

The monks have limited access to radio, and take one weekly newspaper as well as Catholic journals. Some have access to the internet for work purposes. They are following the World Cup “a little bit”, said Father Joseph. “We catch up on the scores the next day.” Trappists value simplicity. “Simplicity doesn’t stand for a thing done simply, or cheaply, but rather represents a distillation of complexity,” say the monks of Mount St Bernard. Despite living a life apart, monks are open to the world. We carry the world’s anxieties and hopes in our prayers.”