Espace Chimay

Chimay is one of my favorite Trappist beers. After viewing the Abbey where it is made, we drove down the road to partake in one of my favorite beers. And hey, some of the profits of Chimay goes to help the needy.
The space here is set in a huge field with lovely views. If you have kids, they even have a playground. Random.
The inside offers a brief ‘museum’ on the history and brewing process of the beer as well as some artifacts. The inside dining area is large, but it was really nice out so we went outdoors to the huge patio.
We opted for the flight of 4 Chimays. At 8 euro, it’s a steal because these are heavy pours.
I ordered the salad and it was enormous. They have it listed as a ‘side salad’ but it was an entrée portion and absolutely outstanding. I’m not sure what the ‘Chimay dressing’ is, but I wish our waitress spoke English so I could’ve found out! Thinking I was getting a tiny salad, I also ordered the meatballs in the cheese sauce. Yowzas they were good. The cheese is also made by the monks and it is divine, which was a surprise because the previous trappist cheese I had elsewhere was not good at all.
This is a must see if you are a beer aficionado such as us and the lunch we had was a great surprise!

Chimay is famous for its Trappist beers yet unlike many breweries in Belgium, you cannot visit this one — only the church and grounds next to it. So a couple of years ago the brothers of the abbey opened up Espace Chimay, which is pretty much a nice little museum giving the history of the beer and how they are helping with their charities (profits from the beer sales) to support poor people and other good causes.
This mini-​museum is quite interesting although I feel that they could have done more with it, adding more displays and such. Well, that’s probably just me but it is lacking in that department.
There is also a café/​restaurant which is pretty decent. You can of course drink the various types of Chimay beer in full glasses or even get a little sampler and try the blonde, bruin and bleu at the same time. I suggest that you have this with a plate of Chimay cheese. Yes, the monks make cheese too.
The espace also has a store that sells lots of different Chimay products — things with the Chimay logo on them — as well as their beers, cheeses and even local bread.

Cette auberge/​espace de vente est le seul endroit où l’on peut acheter de la chimay puisque la brasserie n’est pas accessible au public.
Le bar resto est plutôt sympa et les formules de dégustation fromage/​bière bien faites à des tarifs trés honnêtes.
Le petit plus appréciable c’est la possibilité de boire la chimay dorée, une blonde légère uniquement disponible içi.
Au niveau de la boutique les prix sont trés corrects, même pour les goodies du style verre à biere.