Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the ambassador, H.E. Karen Van Vlierberge. Although I do not normally speak in any way in support of a drink culture in this country, if there is anything she can do to increase the supply of Westvleteren beer coming into this country, she would be doing us all a service. That is a beer that is made by Trappist monks about an hour and a half from Brussels, but only in such small quantities as allow them to continue their business. They say they make beer in order to be monks, not the other way around. The only way I was able to get hold of it was by visiting the monastery. The restaurant beside the monastery was heaving with people on a Saturday evening, enjoying a meal and drinking sensibly. It was possible to get it there, but it is impossible to get it otherwise. You have to go on a list, and it takes ages. They take your car registration number and your mobile phone number and they will not sell it to you again for a certain period. It is quite a remarkable product that has been voted the best beer in the world on a number of occasions.