Chimayzing: A Look at One of Belgium’s Finest Breweries

http://www.chimay.com/

I have met few people who know more about the subject of beer than Serg Ribbenboim, owner of Sergio's World Beers. So, it was an honor to receive an invitation to accompany him and a small group of people to Belgium for 10 days full of amazing brewery tours, crazy beer festivals, and cozy local bars. Out of the 17 breweries we visited, the tour of Chimay was for me the most educational, memorable, and delicious experience.

If you've dabbled in the world of Belgian beer, chances are you've heard of Chimay, the most highly exported Trappist beer in the world. The Trappists make up a Cistercian branch of monks who practice strict, traditional Catholicism. There are many Trappist monasteries in the world, but only seven of them brew beer (Achel, Orval, Westvleteren, Westmalle, Rochefort, Chimay in Belgium and La Trappe in the Netherlands). The Trappists all take the quality of their beer very seriously but have different methods of public distribution, ranging from the extremely exclusive Westvleteren (who does not export at all and limits each guest to one box set of beer to take home) to Chimay (who exports to 40 countries).

As part of our epic adventure, we spent a full day touring the Chimay abbey, brewery, and bottling plant located in the southern French-speaking province of Hainaut in the small town of Chimay. True to form, we were over an hour behind schedule when we left our hotel in northern Belgium and piled into our 2 minivans. After two and a half hours of driving, hungover and under slept, we arrived at the very commercial looking business offices connected to the Chimay bottling plant to meet our tour guide, a small well-kept man named Fabrisse who handles much of the distribution of Chimay beer. He and Sergio happily chatted in French about the fact that we had no accommodations for the evening (also par for the course on this trip), and we started in on the tours. My beer-clouded brain doesn't remember half of the details we heard as we walked through the modern bottling facility and the brewery inside the monastery, but here's the important stuff.



The Evolution of Chimay bottles (from left to right)

  The Chimay abbey makes three types of beer: Red (the original at 7.0 abv), Blue (the strongest at 9.0 abv), and the White Tripel (the newest addition to the Chimay family at 8.0 abv). All beers are bottled in the standard 33 cl and 75 cl bottles completely unique to Chimay. The Blue is the only beer bottled in larger bottles, and incidentally, the only one of the three that should be aged. The automated bottling machines can fill 40,000 little bottles per hour and 16,000 of the next size up. The large 150 cl Magnum bottles are bottled by hand much more slowly. After bottling, the beer undergoes a second fermentation before being exported. In awe we walked through the warehouse where thousands of beer crates and kegs are organized on palates according to the countries they will be sent. Fabrisse furnished us with Chimay caps, pens and plenty of brochures before leading us on the eight km drive to the monastery.

True to the Trappist tradition, the monastery grounds are perfectly kept and simply furnished. Once inside, we walked through the church and the brewery both surprisingly monk-less. As demand for Chimay abroad increases, the brewery continues to expand production, adding new fermentation tanks in every possible space. In this spirit of modernization, Computer equipment that regulates temperatures through the brewing process (a wall of brightly colored dials and buttons reminiscent of a spaceship control panel from The Jetsons) will be updated soon. From the brewery it was on to the tasting room, where each batch of beer is tasted to ensure it is of Chimay quality. Fabrisse said it is best to taste beer around 11 am right before lunch, when the belly is empty and the taste buds sensitive. We compared two versions of Chimay Blue Grande Reserve, a new bottle and one from 1995. Aging really brings out the rich malty flavor of this spicy strong ale. The younger version is brighter, lighter, and more carbonated. We also got to try some of the monk's beer, which has a lower alcohol content than the other three beers and manages to be both light and flavorful. You used to be able to buy this beer in the bottle at Chimay, but after someone put one of the bottles on eBay, they decided to discontinue sales.

After the tasting, we drove back to a little restaurant in town where Fabrisse treated us to a bountiful lunch complete with all three Chimay beers as well as the tapped version of the Tripel (the only one of the three beers sold in kegs), Chimay cheese (the monks make four types), and delicious steak frites. When taken together, the beers must be consumed in the order in which they were created (Red, Blue, White). The Red is a brown beer that is a little lighter in body than the Blue, but still rich in flavor. The White punches one in the face with hops, but it remains my favorite of the three, and becomes even more vibrant in flavor when it comes from the tap. The restaurant's menu is satisfyingly diverse including a traditional pickled fish dish called escaveche, salads, omelets, rabbit, and steak frites with a variety of three sauces (mushroom, roquefort, and peppercorn). We ate there three times over two days and always left satisfied. Three minutes walking from this cozy culinary gem will bring you to the hotel franc bois, a quaint little bed and breakfast with very comfortable accommodations. There is of course a Chimay auberge where you can stay the night and purchase Chimay merchandise Tuesdays through Sundays.

All in all, the town of Chimay provides the perfect place for a 24 hour getaway. The brewery tour is fabulous, the beer and cheese taste delicious, and the people do all they can to make you feel like home.

- Guest Blogger, Dominique Baser
http://dominiquebaser.wordpress.com/