Brasserie De Chimay

The history of the Chimay Brewery begins in 1850, when the parish priest of Virelles, Abbot Jean-Baptiste Jourdin, and the Prince of Chimay, Joseph de Riquet de Caraman, invited ten monks from Westvleteren Abbey to settle on the Scourmont plateau. Their primary mission was simple yet ambitious: "to help the region around Chimay." To support this mission, the monks soon decided, among other things, to brew beer.

The first Chimay beer was launched in 1862. Initially, distribution was handled by the monks themselves, who delivered door-to-door on foot. Today, the brewing and fermentation process still takes place within the abbey walls, while the bottling takes place in Baileux, a village between the abbey and the town of Chimay.

The abbey faced difficult times. During World War II, it was occupied by German troops and all the brewing vats were melted down, forcing the brewery to be completely rebuilt after the war. In 1948, Father Théodore De Haene enrolled at the University of Leuven, where he was taught by the renowned Professor Jean De Clerck. Together they developed a new brewing yeast that would form the basis for future Chimay beers.

In 1956, the community created a special Christmas beer, which proved so successful that it went into permanent production. Today, we know this beer as the iconic Chimay Bleue.

Due to increased production, bottling moved to the Baileux site in 1978, where laypeople took over the work. This preserved sufficient space and tranquility within the abbey to avoid disrupting monastic life.

One of the hallmarks of Chimay beer is that it is neither filtered nor pasteurized. This choice emphasizes the artisanal character and contributes to the authenticity of the taste, which has made Chimay one of the most famous Trappist beers worldwide.