Chimay Blanche

Since the Middle Ages, monks have been closely associated with the art of brewing.  It's hard to imagine today, but throughout most of history beer was considered a valuable source of nutrition; more of a food than a social beverage.  Drinking beer allowed monks to keep their strength up while fasting during Lent and other religious observances.  Beer also provided a cheap form of sustenance that could be offered to poor travelers seeking shelter and charity from the monastery.  Later on, monasteries began selling their beer in large quantities to provide financial support for their orders.  Monasteries possessed the skill, time, labor, and facilities necessary to produce consistent-tasting beer on a large scale - an uncommon ability in pre-industrial Europe.

The monastic brewing tradition is reflected in the names of many modern European breweries: Franziskaner (the German word for a Franciscan monk), Paulaner (named for St. Francis of Paola), and St. Pauli Girl (founded at St. Paul's Monastery in Bremen), to name a few.  While these beers may trace their lineage to medieval brewer-monks, today they are subsidiary brands of world-wide corporations, with no connection to monastic life.  However, there are still religious organizations that continue to support themselves and their charities by brewing and marketing beer - the famous Trappist breweries of Belgium.

Chimay is one of several breweries associated with the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly known as "Trappists."  During the 18th and 19th centuries, like many other orders, Trappist monasteries in western Europe began brewing and selling beer to raise money for buildings, supplies, and charities.  Today, seven Trappist monasteries carry on this tradition: six in Belgium and one in the Netherlands.  Of all of these, Chimay is probably the most visible Trappist brand on the American beer market.  The brewery is located at the Abbaye de Notre Dame de Scourmont in the town of Chimay in southwest Belgium.  The abbey was founded in 1850 and has been brewing since 1862.  Like many of its Trappists cousins, Chimay remained largely a local product throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  After World War I, Chimay and other Trappist breweries began exploring the possibility of exporting their products throughout Europe and beyond.

Chimay Blanche (also known as Chimay White or Chimay Triple) is the newest of Chimay's brews, introduced in 1986.  It belongs to a Belgian beer style called tripel.  The term tripel is a relic of a Trappist beer naming convention that originated at the Westmalle Trappist brewery in the early 20th century.  This convention was based on alcoholic strength.  Westmalle's standard ale contained about 3% ABV, so their dubbel ("double") ale clocked in at around 6%, and their tripel ("triple") ale around 9% ABV.  Westmalle began focusing on tripel ales in the early 1930s.  The style was intended to compete with the pale lagers from Germany and Bohemia, which were light, complex, and highly alcoholic.  Other Trappist and secular breweries in Belgium were quick to follow their lead, each producing its own version of a tripel ale.  By the 1950s, "tripel" had become synonymous with a strong Belgian pale ale.  However, there is much room for variation, and no two tripels are exactly alike.

Chimay Blanche is a pale golden-orange color.  It has a sharper hop flavor than your average tripel.  It also has a crisp, dry finish, whereas other tripels may be more sweet or malty.  The dryness and bitterness of the hops is balanced by a complex fruity flavor that is often described as being similar to grapes, raisins, or apples.  These flavors are byproducts of fermentation resulting from a unique proprietary strain of yeast - there is no actual fruit flavor added.  In fact, the list of ingredients that make up this extremely complex brew is surprisingly short and traditional: malted barley, wheat starch, hops, yeast, and water drawn from a well within the monastery walls.

Amazingly, the Chimay Brewery is still 100% owned and operated by the Trappist monks of Scourmont. Despite what you might think, given their global distribution, Chimay has remained true to its heritage.  All proceeds go towards funding the operation of the monastery as well as its many charitable endeavors.  This represents quite a windfall for the unfortunate, since Chimay's annual sales figures are around $50 million.  I mention the charitable connection in part because it might help you talk yourself into splurging on this brew: like all premium Belgian beers, Chimay Blanche is pricey.  It can be found at mostly any specialty beer store and is available both in standard six-packs and 750-cl "champagne" style bottles (which are labeled as "Chimay Cinq Cents").

And if Chimay doesn't float your boat, there are tons of other tripels out there, including other Trappist offerings.  For example, Westmalle Tripel (the original tripel) is very good and can often be found in specialty stores.  My brother Evan recently turned me on to Tripel Karmeliet, which has shot to the top of my Belgian beer list.  While not Trappist, TK is an out-of-this-world tripel which is somewhat lighter, crisper, and more subtle than Chimay Blanche.