Our Belgian Beer Road: Beer & Cheese With The Monks

Two flights of Chimay

When I think of traditional Belgian foods beer is definitely the first item that comes to mind with cheese coming in a close second. While touring Belgium you would be hard pressed to visit any town, market or restaurant and not find local versions of both items on the shelves and menus. Some is made on a small scale and meant for local consumption, with the flavors influenced by local grains, grasses and milk. Others are made on a larger scale with the intent of being sold both around Belgium and exported throughout Europe and even the world. After all, there is a reason that Belgian beers and cheeses are so famous. In fact, I drank my first Belgian beer at a friend's house back in the United States. The Chimay was dark, smooth and one of the best beers I had ever drank (and this is coming from someone who doesn't consider themselves to be a "beer person"). But I soon forgot about it and was only reminded about Chimay when I spotted the squat bottles in the shelves of my local grocery store here in Belgium. I bought a couple of bottles to bring home and we were reminded of how much we liked it. And when the store ran a promotion pairing their beer with their aged cheese I knew we had to visit their brewery. So on a recent weekend we did.

The Chimay Brewery has been producing beer inside of the Notre Dame de Scourmont Abbey in southern Belgium since 1862 and is one of just ten worldwide that produces Trappist beers. There are strict rules dictating how a beer can be classified as "Trappist". Trappists beers are all brewed by monks or under their close supervision. While the beer is bottled outside of the monastery walls at a rate of up to 40,000 bottles an hour, the water for the beers comes from a inside of the monastery. A Trappist brewery can not be the main operation of the abbey and all proceeds from the sales of beers (and other abbey produced items) must be used for the financial support of the monastery or charities in the surrounding community. (I like to think of the Trappists as being the original not-for-profit organization). And the brewery indirectly supports the cheese production as well; leftover mash from the brewing process is recycled into livestock feed for the cows that produce the milk for the cheese. Without a doubt, Chimay products earn money; recent sales figures are in the range of $50 million per year. Now that's a lot of beer (and cheese)!

On the day of our visit we had lunch in their cafe where were able to sample Chimay's three widely distributed ales as well as a special "in-house" beer that is brewed for internal consumption only. When paired with fresh bread and the four cheeses also made by the monks, lunch was served. It was hard to decide which beers and cheese were our favorites. All were good but we liked some more than others We really couldn't decide. So our solution was to purchase more beer and cheese to take home. At home we are still undecided. But then again, why choose when we have easy access to all of them?

Plan your own visit:

You can dine in the brasserie, tour Espace Chimay, shop in the boutique and even stay overnight in their small in. The monastery is a short walk away and the grounds are open to the public during daylight hours.

Address: Rue de Poteaupre 5, B-6464 Bourlers, Belgium

Phone: +32 (0)60/21.14.33

Website: http://www.chimay.com

Hours of Operation: varies by season

Just Say Fromage

Cheese might not be the first thing you think of when considering Belgian gastronomy.  Chocolate and pastries, yes. Beer and mussels, definitely. But cheese? Belgium is adjacent to France, a country renowned for their variety of tasty cheeses so maybe. At least that is what I used to think. But now I know for sure.

Now my mindset has changed to a definite as I am enamoured with the variety of artisan cheeses available in Belgian shops and markets. Actually, there are approximately 300 different distinct varieties of artisan cheeses produced in Belgium with each town or village having at least one speciality store selling their local products.  Cow's milk is by far the most common cheese base with brine washes, including those made local beers and ales, making the cheeses unique. Most of Belgium's cheeses are consumed domestically which may account for the reason that so much of the world is unaware of the country's great cheeses. But it makes me a bit sad to think about what those who don't visit Belgium are missing.

So where does one even begin when searching out great Belgian cheeses? The local markets held weekly in most towns is a great place to start. Smaller markets are guaranteed to have at least one cheese vendor while larger ones like the one in Mons have several to choose from. Most will let you sample their goods before making a selection which I always find to be helpful since the options are simply overwhelming. But then again, I have yet to find a cheese that I don't like. Some I might not love but every one I have tasted to date has been more than palatable with most making me want to go back for more. But my favorite cheeses to date have been those from Les Fromages de Thoricourt. This small farm is a favorite with SHAPE families and after visiting I now can understand why. Operated by the Oostendorp family, the farm's raw milk cheeses are made with organic milk from their own cows. The tiny shop is located right on the family's farm but their cheese is also sold at local bazaars and festivals. But visiting the cheese shop itself is a part of the cheese experience. Visitors are invited to sample all of the cheeses before buying them. (Additionally the shop sells fresh eggs, a small selection of salami--made with cheese- which are excellent, local beers and wines, chocolates, jams, and other local delicacies). With the exception of the soft, spreadable cheeses the cheese are Gouda based. On my first visit the proprietress quickly informed me that because it is made with raw milk, this Gouda is not like the kind you buy in the store, and she was right. The texture was firmer than what I was familiar with and the taste was more complex. I could have eaten wedges of these cheese but why stop there? The herb infused cheeses-both Greek and Italian inspired- were delicious as was the cumin scented cheese. I haven't tried the nettle one but the Gouda whose rind was brushed with Belgian Ale was pretty darn tasty. There are so many varieties to try that I'll be going back again for more. Who knew that a simple Gouda could be so good? And this is just from one farm. With an entire country of cheese to try I know the next few years will be wonderful.

For someone who spent the past three years in the cheese abyss that is called Albania, I'm loving my Belgian cheese adventures. Cheese and French bread have become one of my favorite on the go lunches and the options really are endless. In fact, I'm thinking it is time to eat some more now.

A Little Whine and a Lot of Cheese

We entertain a lot and some weeks, it feels like we entertain a lot more than we really do.  Only ten months into our Albanian gig, I'm feeling like we are in a rut when it comes to hosting receptions. It seems like each one has the same menu and same guest list.  So, to kick things up a notch, we decided that for our first April event we would host a wine and cheese themed reception.

It sounded simple enough- or in Glenn's words, we just had to put a bunch of cheese on the table and open a few bottles of wine.  Um, sorry honey. Even the simplest of ideas takes a little more effort.  First, our little shin-dig for 40 was to be held the day after Glenn returned to Albania after being out of the country for a week.  This wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that my only prep time for this event was after Sidney the night owl went down to sleep well after 2100 each evening. 

If I was back in the U.S.- or in any other country in Europe for that matter- putting together a menu would have been a simple enough proposition.  As I should know by now, putting together any event here is a lot more work than it should be.  Albania is the land of "white cheese" - a.k.a. feta with various levels of pungency and two types of wine- vere e bardhe (white) and vere e kuqe (red). That's all folks- those are your local choices. 

People often tell me that I obsess about details but as I always do, I was determined to find just the right combination of food and drink to serve to our guests.  Some of you may have read my post from earlier this week bemoaning the difficulties I encountered when shopping in our local, not-so-friendly Carrefour.  Sticking to my boycott of the store I set about finding the perfect wines to go with the perfect cheeses for our event.  I struck silver- not gold because I couldn't find everything I needed- at Bote e Veres, a local wine warehouse where they know us by name-- or more like they know Sidney by name and recognize Glenn and I as Sidney's parents.  Most of their wines are imported from Italy with a smattering from Chile, the U.S. of A. and South Africa thrown.  With the exception of port  I was able to find everything I needed. (The port was later picked up by my globe trotting husband in a duty-free shop during his layover in Munich).

Part of the cheese spread

A variety of cheeses was harder to come by but in the end I think I did pretty well and didn't serve a single "Albanian white cheese."  I ended up pairing fresh mozzarella and tomato skewers with Chianti, a Gorgonzola and mascarpone torte with port, phyllo wrapped brie with a crisp chardonnay and a Swiss fondue with a Macedonian Riesling.  I paired green olives from Berat with a hard goat cheese Glenn brought back from Vienna and served it with a Sicilian Merlot.  I rounded out the table with a few more wines and simple fruit, crackers, and cheese presentations.  I even dipped into my precious stash of cheddar and pepper jack that had been "imported" from a Maryland Wegman's and the U.S. Embassy in Budapest.

I was a bit nervous going into the evening since after the difficulties I encountered in buying these items, everything suddenly seemed too easy.  I wasn't sure how a simple wine and cheese presentation would be received since this type of event is apparently unheard of in Eastern Europe.  To our surprise, once people got over the fact they could chose between several white and red wines, they really enjoyed themselves.  They enjoyed themselves so much that they ate me out of cheese.  Yes, that's right, for the first time ever there weren't any leftovers and the visions I had had of eating cheese and crackers this weekend was reduced to the cheese crumbles left on picked-clean platters.  That's OK though- within the next month both Glenn and I will be traveling through several countries and we'll be on the lookout for more cheese.