Chimay Craft Beer

About Chimay Specialøl

Chimay Brewery is located inside Scourmont Abbey, a Trappist monastery near the town of Chimay in southern Belgium, and is one of only 13 breweries in the world permitted to use the "Trappist Ale" designation. The brewery was the first to ever use the term on its labels, and the beer is sold solely to fund the monastery and good causes.

History & background

In 1844, parish priest Jean-Baptiste Jourdain of Virelles suggested that the wild plateau of Scourmont would be a suitable site for a monastery. In 1850, a small group of monks from Westvleteren settled at Scourmont and founded a priory, raised to the status of abbey in 1871. To support the monastery and provide local employment, the monks built both a cheese factory and a brewery, with the brewery founded in 1862.

Production & style

Chimay brews four ales - Rouge, Bleue, Blanche (Triple) and 150 - plus a patersbier reserved for the monks themselves. All beers are fermented with Chimay's own yeast strain, in use since the brewery's founding, giving the range its characteristic fruity, high-alcohol profile.

Signature style

Full-bodied, Fruity, Complex
The flavour offers dark fruit, caramel and spice in the darker expressions, while the Blanche/Triple is lighter and more peppery with notes of hops and yeast.

Facts

Did you know?

Chimay was the very first brewery in the world to use the "Trappist Ale" designation on its labels - a term now reserved for just 13 select monastic breweries worldwide.

If you like Chimay Specialøl, you should also try:

St. Bernardus Specialøl, Huyghe Delirium Specialøl and De Molen Specialøl.