The beer brewed by monks at a Belgian abbey is so good, it was voted the world's best. The problem? It soon sold out.

The abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren in western Belgium is home to 30 Cistercian and Trappist monks who live a life of seclusion, prayer, manual labor-- and brewing frosty suds.

A survey of thousands of beer aficionados from over 65 countries rated the Westvleteren 12 beer as the world's best in a June poll at the RateBeer Web site ( www.ratebeer.com ).

The problem is that the brewery does not have the capacity to cope with the beer's now-booming popularity.

A message on the abbey's answering machine, dubbed the "beer phone," states, "Our shop is closed because all our beer has been sold out."

The abbey says it has no intention of boosting its capacity to meet market demand.