The move is being made with an eye toward lessening the burden placed on the Monks, who previously had to accept orders over a call-in phone system, while also cutting down on the beers’ sale on the secondary market.

If those bottles then show up on the secondary market for inflated prices, the monks will know which customer is responsible, presumably cutting off their access to beer in the future.

“The new sales system meets the needs of many Westvleteren enthusiasts,” said Brother Manu van Hecke, the abbot of the abbey, in a quote in The Guardian .

In particular, the issue of resale became a particular concern in 2018 after the members of the abbey discovered their beer was being sold via Dutch supermarket chain Jan Linders—at a small, five-times price hike.

The market had presumably been acquiring the beer via mules traveling to the monastery, and then selling it at inflated prices for a steep profit.

Previously, Westvleteren beer had only been sold abroad in the U.S. on a single occasion in 2012, in order to raise money for abbey repairs.