The monks of Scourmont Abbey have been brewing for over 150 years, producing world-class Trappist beer in their austere, peaceful monastery on a wild plateau in Hainaut, one of Belgium’s southern provinces.

For many years, the work of the monks was the cultivation of their fields but, in keeping with other historic Trappist monasteries, the passing of time increased the demands of self sufficiency. This led the brothers to develop cottage industries producing cheese and brewing beer, the latter of which flourished into something rather larger in scale.

And what beer they brew. Chimay’s recognisable bottles are differentiated by coloured caps, with a red Dubbel, a blue Dark Ale, and a white Tripel, alongside a Gold ‘Patersbier’, intended to be drunk by the monks themselves but now enjoyed by many outside the monastery’s walls.

In their own rather poetic words...

‘Here, in this heaven of peace and silence, where since 1850 Trappist monks have dedicated their life to God, products are made which in themselves, gladden the heart of man.’