Andy Montoya
Chimay is a semi-soft, pungent, and robust Belgian cheese made at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont. It is a monastic washed rind cheese, made from pasteurized cow's milk and washed with Chimay beer. The cheese is known for its thick, bright orange, crusty rind and deep lemon-coloured interior. Chimay's unique flavour is attributed to its beer-washing process, which adds a hint of bitterness and a strong aroma of malt and yeast. The abbey offers various beer-and-cheese combinations, with each Chimay cheese having a distinct taste and character. The range includes soft, semi-hard, and hard cheeses, such as Chimay Doré, Chimay à la Rouge, and Vieux Chimay, each paired with a specific Chimay beer.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Texture | Pasty thick |
| Taste | Apricots, peaches, malt, yeast, bitterness, saltiness, booziness, stone fruits, nuts, hops, apples, mushroom, garden herbs, caramel, and stone fruits |
| Aroma | Damp hops, yeast, beer, and malt |
| Type | Semi-soft, soft, semi-hard, and hard |
| Rind | Crusty, thick, bright orange, and tacky to the touch |
| Interior | Deep lemon curd yellow, springy, with small flat holes |
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What You'll Learn
- Chimay cheese is pungent and robust with a pasty, thick texture
- It is made from fresh, pasteurised cow's milk from the region
- The cheese is regularly washed with Chimay beer, giving it a unique taste
- Chimay comes in soft, semi-hard and hard varieties, each with its own distinct flavour
- The best pairings are with beer, specifically a modest selection of Chimay beers
Chimay cheese is pungent and robust with a pasty, thick texture
Chimay cheese is a semi-soft, pungent, and robust cheese with a pasty, thick texture. It is made in Belgium at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont, where monks have been brewing beer and making cheese since 1850. The cheese is crafted from fresh, pasteurized cow's milk and carefully monitored to ensure superior taste and quality.
The process of making Chimay cheese begins with the milk being standardized and pasteurized. It is then curdled by adding ferments and a natural coagulant. After the whey is removed, the curd is cut into cubes and placed into moulds, which are pressed to give the cheeses their final shape. The cheeses are then brine-washed and transferred to maturation cellars, where they are washed in salted water and turned regularly to ensure even ripening.
Chimay cheese is known for its bright orange, crusty rind and deep lemon-yellow interior. The cheese has a strong aroma and a unique, pronounced flavour. The specific taste of Chimay cheese can vary depending on the type, aging process, and washing technique used. For example, the Chimay à la Bleue is a soft cheese rinsed in Chimay Bleue beer, resulting in a strong aroma of beer and a pronounced taste of hop bitters and malt. On the other hand, the semi-hard Chimay à la Rouge, rinsed in Chimay Rouge beer, offers a more nuanced flavour profile of lightly roasted hops, caramel, and stone fruits.
When it comes to pairing, Chimay cheeses are often enjoyed with the accompanying beers produced by the abbey. The beer's bitterness helps to refresh the palate and open up the taste buds, creating a unique taste experience. The monks recommend starting with a mild cheese and gradually moving towards more intense flavours. For instance, a cheese board might begin with the mild Chimay Doré, followed by the semi-hard Chimay à la Rouge, and conclude with the strong and flavourful Chimay à la Bleue.
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It is made from fresh, pasteurised cow's milk from the region
Chimay cheese is made from fresh, pasteurised cow's milk sourced from the Belgian Blue Cross cow, a breed native to the region. The milk is collected and analysed to ensure it is free from antibiotics and harmful germs. It is then pasteurised, standardised to a fat content of around 30g per litre, and transferred to a production vat.
To make the cheese, ferments and a natural coagulant are added to the milk to begin the curdling process, which takes about an hour. The whey is then removed, and the remaining curd is washed with a mixture of water and whey to give it its characteristic, springy texture. The curd is then cut into cubes and carefully placed into round or rectangular moulds by hand. These moulds are pressed to give the cheeses their final shape. The cheeses are then removed from the moulds and soaked in a tank of brine (salted water) for between 1 hour 15 minutes and 45 hours, depending on the weight of the cheese.
Once the cheeses have soaked in brine, they are transferred to maturation cellars, where the temperature is maintained between 8 and 12°C, and the humidity level is between 90 and 95%. In the cellars, the cheeses are washed in salted water at least twice and turned one to three times to ensure even ripening. Finally, the cheeses are checked, weighed, and packaged for shipping to customers in Belgium, France, America, and elsewhere.
The monks of Scourmont Abbey have been making cheese since 1876, and their dedication to using fresh, local ingredients and carefully monitoring production has resulted in a unique, delicious line of handcrafted cheeses.
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The cheese is regularly washed with Chimay beer, giving it a unique taste
Chimay is a semi-soft, pungent and robust cheese with a pasty thick texture that coats the tongue. It is made in Belgium at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont, where monks have been crafting their renowned cheese since 1876. The cheese is regularly washed with Chimay beer, giving it a unique taste.
Chimay cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and produced in a wide, flat disk format. It has a crusty thick rind that is bright orange and tacky to the touch. The interior paste is a deep lemon curd yellow with a springy texture and small flat holes. The cheese rind smells like a brewery: its aroma is yeasty and smells of damp hops.
Chimay Première, also known as Chimay Red, is a semi-soft cheese washed with Chimay Première beer, a dark, fruity ale. The cheese tastes of apricots and peaches, with some bitterness and the unmistakable taste and aroma of malt and yeast. Chimay also makes a Grande Classique (blue-label) cheese in a similar way, but instead washes it in the abbey’s Grande Réserve, a dark, spiced ale with a powerful aroma of raisins and molasses. The result is a cheese with a flavour that is salty, boozy, and yeasty.
Chimay à la Bleue is a soft cheese rinsed in Chimay Bleue, offering a strong aroma of beer and a pronounced taste of hop bitters and malt. The semi-hard Chimay à la Rouge cheese, rinsed in Chimay Rouge, has notes of lightly roasted hops, caramel, and stone fruits against a background of hop bitters. The semi-hard Chimay Doré has subtle aromas of hops and herbs and a mild taste of beer with hints of nuts and garden herbs. Finally, the hard Vieux Chimay is fragrant with mushrooms and apples, with flavours of stone fruits, nuts, and hops.
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Chimay comes in soft, semi-hard and hard varieties, each with its own distinct flavour
Chimay cheese is made in Belgium at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont, also known as the Scourmont Abbey. The abbey has been making its own beer and cheese since the middle of the 19th century. The monks make their Première cheese by washing it in their Première beer, a dark, fruity ale. The cheese is made from fresh, creamy cow's milk from the region and ripened for three weeks, resulting in a flavour that tastes of apricots and peaches, with some bitterness and the unmistakable taste and aroma of malt and yeast.
Chimay comes in soft, semi-hard, and hard varieties, each with its own distinct flavour. The soft Chimay à la Bleue is rinsed in Chimay Bleue beer and has a strong aroma of beer and a pronounced taste of hop bitters and malt. The semi-hard Chimay à la Rouge, meanwhile, is rinsed in Chimay Rouge and has a taste of red Chimay, lightly roasted hops, caramel, and stone fruits, again with a background of hop bitters. Another semi-hard cheese, Chimay Doré, has subtle aromas of hops and herbs and a mild taste of beer with hints of nuts and garden herbs. Finally, the hard Vieux Chimay is fragrant with mushrooms and apples and has a taste of stone fruits, nuts, and hops.
Chimay's cheese master, Jean-Marie Boche, believes that Chimay cheeses are best paired with beer rather than wine. The abbey's own restaurant and tasting room, Espace Chimay, offers various beer-and-cheese taster combinations. For the best taste experience, it is recommended to start with a mild cheese and finish with the most pronounced taste.
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The best pairings are with beer, specifically a modest selection of Chimay beers
Chimay cheese is a pungent and robust semi-soft cheese with a pasty, thick texture that coats the tongue. It is made in Belgium at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont, where the monks also brew beer. The cheese is regularly washed with Chimay beer, giving it an extra depth of flavour. The best pairings are with beer, specifically a modest selection of Chimay beers.
Chimay offers a range of soft, semi-hard, and hard cheeses, each with its own distinct taste and character. For the ultimate taste experience, it is recommended to start with a mild cheese and finish with the most pronounced flavour. Chimay Doré, a semi-hard cheese with subtle aromas of hops and herbs and a mild taste of beer with hints of nuts and garden herbs, is a great place to start. From there, you can move on to the semi-hard Chimay à la Rouge, which is rinsed in Chimay Rouge and has flavours of red Chimay, lightly roasted hops, caramel, and stone fruits, with a background of hop bitters.
For a stronger flavour, try the soft Chimay à la Bleue, which is rinsed in Chimay Bleue and offers a strong aroma of beer and pronounced flavours of hop bitters and malt. The Vieux Chimay, a hard cheese, is the perfect finale to your tasting, with its fragrant notes of mushrooms and apples and flavours of stone fruits, nuts, and hops. Each of these cheeses has a perfect beer counterpart: the Chimay Rouge, a silky-smooth Trappist beer with a fruity aroma of apricot and a slightly bitter impression of nuts, is a classic choice to pair with Chimay à la Rouge.
The abbey's own restaurant and tasting room, Espace Chimay, offers various beer-and-cheese taster combinations for those eager to explore the full range of flavours that Chimay has to offer. The monks' philosophy of living a balanced life, where one works, studies, prays, and relaxes, is reflected in their dedication to crafting both exceptional cheese and beer.
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Frequently asked questions
Chimay cheese is pungent and robust with a thick, pasty texture that coats the tongue. It is semi-soft and beer-washed, with a yeasty aroma and a hint of damp hops.
Chimay à la Bleue is a soft cheese with a strong aroma of beer and a pronounced taste of hops and malt. Chimay à la Rouge is a semi-hard cheese with notes of red Chimay, lightly roasted hops, caramel, and stone fruits. Chimay Doré is another semi-hard cheese with subtle aromas of hops, herbs, and beer, with a mild taste of nuts and garden herbs. Vieux Chimay is a hard cheese with flavours of stone fruits, nuts, and hops, and a fragrance of mushrooms and apples.
Chimay cheese is made at the Abbey of Notre Dame de Scourmont in Belgium, just north of the French border. The monks at the abbey began brewing beer in the 1800s and started making cheese in 1876. The cheese is crafted using fresh, local pasteurized cow's milk from the Belgian Blue Cross cow, and the production of each wheel is carefully monitored to ensure superior taste and quality.
Chimay cheese is typically paired with Chimay beer, as the beer helps to open up the taste buds and creates a unique taste palette when combined with the cheese. A cheese board with a variety of Chimay cheeses can be enjoyed with neutral bread, such as spelt or sourdough, and some beers to complement the cheeses.
