High on the Mont du Secours in southern Belgium, the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont has quietly shaped one of the country’s most distinctive food and drink stories. Since the monks arrived in 1850, they have followed a simple rhythm of prayer and work, turning poor soil into fertile land and building a community around quality, patience and care.
Father Jean-Baptiste Jourdain, the priest of nearby Virelles, and Prince Joseph de Riquet de Caraman, Prince of Chimay, invited a small group of monks from Westvleteren to settle on the Scourmont plateau. Their mission was clear then, as it is now: to “support the Chimay region” by bringing life and work to a poor, marshy landscape.
The monks started by taming the land, creating pastures and farms that would sustain both the community and the people around them. In 1862, they brewed their first beer using natural top fermentation and a second fermentation in the bottle, a choice that still defines Chimay’s character today.
A few decades later, another figure quietly helped broaden Chimay’s expertise. In 1876, Brother Benoît traveled to France to learn how to make semi-firm cheese. His journey led to the birth of Chimay’s Trappist cheese and to a cheese dairy that now works with 100% regional milk from farms within 40 kilometers of the abbey. The team went on to create cheeses washed with Chimay beer, uniting the house’s two crafts in one tasting experience.
From the deep, dark notes of Chimay Blue to the light blond profile of Chimay Gold and the generous, creamy cheeses that share their name, Chimay offers more than a pairing. It offers a taste of a working monastery that has spent more than 150 years refining its craft and sharing it with the world.
In 1948, Father Theodore added a new chapter by isolating the yeast strain that still underpins every Chimay beer. Working inside the abbey, he helped secure a consistent, distinctive profile built on natural ingredients and water drawn entirely from the abbey’s own wells. His work allows today’s brewers, many of them lay men and women from the region, to produce beers that remain faithful to their origins.
Both the beers and cheeses carry the “Authentic Trappist Product” logo. This guarantees that they are made in or near the monastery, under the responsibility of the monks, and that most of the income supports social projects in the region and abroad. Through the Chimay Wartoise Foundation and other initiatives, Chimay directs profits to humanitarian work while also investing steadily in environmental measures such as water treatment, energy recovery and renewable power. From the deep, dark notes of Chimay Blue to the light blond profile of Chimay Gold and the generous, creamy cheeses that share their name, Chimay offers more than a pairing. It offers a taste of a working monastery that has spent more than 150 years refining its craft and sharing it with the world.
