In 1980 the deal with Artois ended, and the monks went back to brewing themselves, this time a top fermented beer which had only been made in limited quantities since the 1950s.

Due to the difficulty of the ageing monks continuing to operate the brewery, a limited liability company was set up as a subsidiary of the large commercial brewer, Bavaria.

They claimed that this new method of operation was against the regulations that permitted the beer to display the Authentic Trappist Product logo.

Whilst the beer continued to be brewed within the abbey walls, the arrangement with Bavaria was felt to be too commercialised.

After a lengthy study by all parties, and a review of the agreement between the abbey and brewery, the beers were granted the right to display the logo again as of September 9, 2005.

As part of this settlement, the monks have taken a more active control of the brewery day-to-day operations, working several hours each day.

The spent grain remaining after the wort is filtered from the mash is used to feed the abbey's own herd of cows.