The Black Beauty is a Porter Ale.
Harking back to the 1880's (sic) with a Traditional Thames Valley brown Porter. Roasted malt and coffee on the nose, smooth malt with liquorice and chocolate on the palate.
Available on Handle
The Gravitas is a Pale Ale.
A strong, pale ale packed with hop and citrus flavours, rounded off by a dry, biscuit finish. A pronounced hop aroma throughout.
Available on Handle
The Last Drop Rose Red Bitter is a Red Ale.
Rye and Barley crystal malts and an innovative double roasted malt at a very “quaffable” 4%. This year we’ve hopped the brew with the addition of Mosaic and Simcoe hops to give a fruity floral aroma – you can almost taste the red rose!
Available on Handle
The Smuggler is a Amber Ale.
An amber coloured, special bitter with a distinctive fruity hop character, and lasting bittersweet finish.
Available on Handle
The Shamrock is a stout Ale.
An Irish dry stout that was designed for cask, brewed for cask and served on cask only! Pouring black with a light tan head, this traditional Irish stout presents a roasty, dark chocolate flavour with a subtle berry note. Eminently drinkable and surprisingly light!
Available on Handle
The Opulent Owl is a Bitter Ale.
Traditional bitter with a twist. This dependable style is lifted with the inclusion of Olicana hops, a vibrant up-start of the UK hop scene.
Available on Handle
The Welsh Dragons is a Golden Pale Ale.
Citrus golden pale ale
Available on Gravity
The Sticks & Stones is a golden Ale.
Sticklebract and mosaic hops
Available on Gravity
The Tropical Breeze is a Golden Pale Ale.
Hinting undertones of melon, pineapple and peach Melba with a zesty bitter finish.
Available on Gravity
The Lager is a Pale Lager.
An authentic lager brewed using the finest specialist malt and yeast. The key to its delicate clean taste is a cold fermentation and a long, slow maturation which allows the subtle flavours to slowly develop. Continental hops add a light floral element and gentle bitterness, helping to create an extremely crisp, refreshing and drinkable character.
Available on Fizz
The Lunardi`s Oatmeal Pale is a Pale Ale.
A generous dose of oats adds a creamy , Pillowy texture to this session-strength Pale Ale , Simcoe provides aromas of stone fruit and mango, finished with comet for a refreshing citrus edge.
Available on Fizz
The Plan Bee is a Scotch Ale Ale.
Wee Heavy with New Forest Heather Honey - A rich, malty, warming Scottish Ale brewed with a blend of dark malts and heaps of lush English heather honey. A collaboration with our friends at Simple Things Fermentations, Glasgow
Available on Fizz
The Treason is a Blonde Ale.
Treason is a West Coast IPA, bronze in colour and with a big hop aroma that gives way to a lingering spicy bitterness.
Available on Fizz
The Cloudy Vintage is a Cloudy Cider.
In 1880 Henry Weston first started crafting cider from the bittersweet apples grown on his farm in Much Marcle, Herefordshire. Medium dry cloudy cider with a full-bodied fruity character
Available on Handle
The Pina Colada is a Fruit Cider Cider.
You’ll never get caught in the rain with this deliciously fresh and cool Piña Colada cider. Pineapple, rum, and coconut are all blended with our crisp Somerset cider. Escape with this smooth, sweet and summery delight. Perfect when served over ice with a fresh pineapple wedge to garnish
Available on Handle
The Old Rosie is a Medium Dry Cider.
A balance of sweetness & acidity. Slowly matured & left unfiltered with a classic 'scrumpy' aroma, with scents of bittersweet apples, hay barns and honey. Cloudy, still & straw coloured.
Available on Handle
The Gingerbread is a spiced cider Cider.
A fiery mix of ginger and deliciously crisp sparkling apple cider
Available on Handle
The Lemon and lime is a FRUITY Cider.
A refreshing blend of tangy citrus fruits and crisp Somerset cider to awaken your taste buds. A real taste of Summer
Available on Handle
The Gladiator is a Medium Dry Cider.
THIS STRONG RUSTIC CIDER WITH ITS ROMAN FLAIR HAS EVERYTHING. WELL ROUNDED, FRUITY, PACKED FULL OF FLAVOUR AND INTOXICATINGLY EASY TO DRINK
Available on Handle
My personal love for real ale began by accident at a CAMRA beer festival in St Albans. The concept of a micropub called Monks Inn was born in February 2018. The motivation stems from frustration truth be told. The lack of variety of quality cask beer in the established pubco or brewery pubs was the major driving factor. There are so many absolutely brilliant and skilled micro breweries around who still brew for love of beer. People who are passionate about what they do regardless of the fact that they don’t have umpteen pubs who are tied into them.
Our affiliation to the real ale and cider industry began in grass roots rugby with legendary landlords by the names of Karen and Craig Douglas. They owned a little pub in London called The Bree Louise. Sporting 24 cask ales and 11 ciders, it’s easy to see why I was so spoilt with quality and choice. The Bree was my only stop off on way home to Watford Junction where I lived, and also coached mini rugby at Watford Rugby Club. I was most perturbed by the fact that Craig, being an ex Harlequins player, had no place to take his then 10 year old son. Watford being 17 minutes away was an easy invite. Next thing I know we are running an annual real ale festival to raise cash for this tiny club.
Second thorn in the side was the flashing lights, questionable doof doof music (as I call it) and get drunk fast on cheap bilge culture. Inevitably an environment that invites xenophobia, racism, sexism, homophobia, intolerance as a whole. I was looking to emulate the ethos I found at the Bree with traditional roots. Drink beer the way monks invented it to be drunk. Serve it in the way it’s designed to be served. Uninterrupted, pure, blissful cask beer.
Committing to a pubco or brewery pub with no experience was a definite no no. My personal opinion is, this is a major contributing factor to the massive closures of pubs in the country. It is so difficult for a publican to make a living when they are restricted and tied to the mainstream companies. And the reason you drink the same beer in every other pub. It was not good enough for me. So, motivated by my cousin and brother Desmond Whitaker, we converted an old Jennings Bookie, got the right licencing approvals and opened our doors on the 9 th November 2018.
The pub was an immediate success with ‘Best Newcomer’ awarded to us by CAMRA after three months of trading. A year later we were awarded Best Pub by CAMRA Mid-Chiltern Branch and we are now in the Good Beer Guide. The 10 cask beers (five gravity and five handles), along with six still cider handles, a decent gin collection of around 30 gins was a big hit. There are no permanent beers on. We change it up every week and the selection is whimsical and random. It’s a beer festival every week. And everyone was welcome to our austere ‘monastery’. Bohemian hippies, gothic rockers, LGTBQ community, beer tickers and pensioners all converse and talk with each other. We champion charity causes with our neighbours The Salvation Army and we idolise the work our NHS Angels do. Policemen, Firemen and serving Armed Force members all enjoy special discounts, as does our pensioners and CAMRA members (outside of Covid Survival Mode). We have a tribe who call themselves ‘Monkonians’ and we are a family.
80% of our beer is sourced within a 30 mile radius we do bring in beer and cider from all corners of our beautiful country. You will find our products are proudly British with a hint of South African. We have a decent wine selection with Rum starting to creep in as the next Gin fad.
When permitted we hold very decent comedy and quiz nights with talented acoustic sessions on the weekend. Come and join our family. You will feel the love and serenity.