Monks Brewing Beer in a Busy Monastery

Copper brewing kettles rise above a stone-floored monastery yard where monks in patchwork and striped robes tend valves and haul barrels between them. Sacks of grain and hops sit piled near a wall of stacked wine barrels, and a small cat trots past a mouse scurrying along the floor. Colorful woven rugs mark paths between work areas, where monks gather to talk over mugs of ale and one mops up a spill of golden liquid pooling beneath a tipped barrel. Along the far counter, brothers weigh and wrap wheels of cheese, jars of preserves and fresh loaves pulled from a brick oven, while another rolls a huge cheese wheel onto the shelf. Rows of barrels lie stacked on their sides waiting to be filled, and a dog trots between them. Monks sample bottled drinks along a table up front. Every vat, cart and rug in this yard keeps its own task apart from the rest.