Q&A: Trappist monks have expanded Spencer Brewery during COVID
Photo | Courtesy of The Spencer Brewery
The Spencer Brewery Director Fr. Isaac Keeley, holding the brewery's Monkster Mash Pumpkin Ale and Winter Warmer Amber Lager.
The Spencer Brewery, named for the quiet town in which it operates, is a local gem with a wide audience. Distributing to more than a dozen states and five countries, the brewery was established as a means to enhance the continued financial viability of Saint Joseph’s Abbey, which is home to a community of Trappist monks. The first Trappist ale to be brewed outside of Europe, The Spencer Brewery builds on a long-established tradition and on the abbey’s other main business endeavor -- manufacturing Trappist Preserves. Brewery Director Fr. Isaac Keeley, known by most as Fr. Isaac, spoke with WBJ about the brewery's recently expanded distribution list, operating in the world of COVID-19 and what it’s like balancing two popular brands.
With fall on its way, should consumers expect new or different beer varieties from The Spencer Brewery?
Two new beers are coming. The second brew of Spencer’s Monkster Mash Pumpkin Ale is at retail just now. We shipped to distributors two weeks ago as we finished canning; one more canning is lined up, and that one is sold out too via pre-orders from distributors. The can design is playful, the flavor rather delightful, and this ale heralds the change in season – a winning combo all the way round.
The second new beer is the Spencer Winter Warmer Amber Lager brewed with honey and spice. Mostly we do ales in the Belgian-style, so this lager is a change of pace - brewed especially for local lager drinkers. Br. Adam works his abbey bee yard to produce honey right here at the monastery and some of his honey is incorporated into this lager. (The honey also is sold at our Abbey Gift Shop and Bookstore, which re-opened right after Labor Day. It has been closed since March when the COVID closings were mandated). The Winter Warmer will arrive at retail soon after Halloween, just in time for the flannel season when those chilly November days break into the long dark nights of late fall and early winter.
How has The Spencer Brewery fared during the coronavirus pandemic?
We had a great first quarter underway, but March turned into shutdown central for us. Keg sales died, and distributors were afraid to replenish inventories. Then the beer consumers (and market) turned to packaged beers to drink at home. Our brewery is set up for packaging to meet the demands of that kind of market. COVID now appears to be a survivable phenomenon for us. It also brought us contract brew work.
What kind of adjustments have been made?
We are learning to become more skilled at cash-flow management, cost-cutting, utilization and drawdown of existing inventories, and brew-to-order production only. We have reached out for some professional accounting assistance. We have developed a phone call sales program, and upgraded our attention to social media – never our strong point, but we are gaining ground here, too. We also have co-hosted three virtual tastings including, recently, with the Craft Beer Cellar.
The Spencer Brewery, of course, has a unique backstory -- how does monastery-made beer differ from beer made elsewhere?
The beer world loves to speak about its passion for beer, a point which we highly respect and appreciate. For the monks, though I would have to say our passion is oriented in a somewhat different direction, which is probably not surprising to anyone. With regard to beer creation and production, monks focus on balance, tradition and consistency. The water, the barley, the hops, the yeast -- making room in the recipe for each component to make its distinctive contribution to the flavor profile is what we mean by balance.
This is a very traditional Belgian aesthetic, and our beer palates have been shaped by Belgian beer culture, Trappist beers in particular. Our core business consists of the traditional Belgian styles brewed with the Trappist family yeast, utilizing a second fermentation in each bottle. Balance and tradition are important to us, so we do not compete for front-edge innovations, instead we aim at world-class brewing and a “You can count on us” profile of excellence and quality. Like other Trappist breweries, the revenue beyond operating expenses is used to support nonprofits, beginning with our nonprofit monastery and other nonprofit endeavors the monastery seeks to support.
How do you decide what kinds of beer to brew?
The Trappist Belgian tradition is foundational. Nevertheless, no brewer brews just for himself, and since we are the only Trappist brewery outside of Europe, we do brew for our local friends and neighbors. This means we rotate through some IPAs, pilsners and lagers, and we had lots of fun with our Monkster Mash Pumpkin Ale. Brewers, like cooks, are creative people, so we innovate especially with seasonals.
There were discussions about potentially building a taproom. Has there been any motion on that or any other type of expansion?
In the monastic community we have considered a tasting room, but there is no forward plan at this time. We have some hope of selling Spencer beers at retail for off-premise consumption through our monastery store on Route 31 near the entrance to the monastery property. There are some licensing issues to be worked through, and a final monastery decision about pursuing this possibility. We are not considering expansion in terms of additional buildings, but in terms of distribution to additional states.
What is it like balancing the Trappist Preserves side of operations with The Spencer Brewery? Does one ever work with or impact the other?
The brewery is a lean operation from a manpower point of view, in part because our brew house and cellar are not as labor intensive as sometimes is the case in other breweries. For packaging days however, we are assisted by some of the brothers from Trappist Preserves kitchen, and other TP employees. We do split shifts morning and afternoon on canning days, and we bottle beer on days when TP is not cooking jelly. On a very different note, we leaned on the jelly brothers to guide us in our choice of a peach variety to incorporate in our Peach Saison. Some peaches from Br. Adam’s modest peach orchard are included in the current Peach Saison.
What states do you distribute to?
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, Ohio, Colorado, California, Nebraska and Washington, D.C. Almost half of these states have launched in the COVID environment. Tennessee and Louisiana intend to launch soon. We export to Belgium, Netherlands, France, Spain, and China with some regularity.
Is there anything else exciting happening at The Spencer Brewery the community should know about?
We envisioned the brewery as our 100-year project and built it with excess production capacity for a startup. To utilize this resource, we are actively engaged in contract brewing. Worcester-based Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co. has been working with us for several months, and we are in conversation with other breweries interested in contract brewing with us. We welcome inquiries for contract brewing services.
This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ Staff Writer Monica Busch.
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