Mould's Beer Blog

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by.  This is my 3rd post in a series where I am tasting beers from Chimay.  Here are links to my reviews of Chimay Red and Chimay Triple .  Tonight's topic will be Chimay Cheese and Chimay Blue! Did you know that Chimay also makes and sells their own cheese?  Before starting this series of posts, I had no idea.  7 different Chimay cheeses are listed on the Chimay website , in a range of styles from light, creamy,  fruity, firm, sweet and intense.  At the local Wegmans grocery, they actually had  a Chimay cheese labeled as such in this picture: This cheese was soft and creamy, very much like a brie, with a fermented sourness.  The cheese left a pleasant bitter aftertaste in my mouth.  Apparently, the cheese rind is soaked in Chimay beer for anywhere from 2 - 48 hours.  Kerry and I sampled this beer and cheese with a full plate of goodies, including mini-toasts, olive flatbread, fruit an...

Welcome back everyone.  Today I am continuing my series on the Chimay beers.  You can find yesterday's post on Chimay Red here . A few minutes walk from the Scourmont Abbey where the Chimay beers are made is the  Poteaupré Inn.  Now, I have to preface this by saying I've never been there, but it looks like a truly special place.  The  Poteaupré Inn is home to a pub, restaurant and hotel, which, as the video on the website says, are a "temple dedicated to Chimay beer and cheese."   The hotel only has 7 rooms, so if you're ever planning a trip to the area and want to stay here, it's probably a good idea to reserve a room well in advance.  Now, the  Poteaupré Inn does not appear to be actually run by the Scourmont Abbey monks, but rather, are just connected through a mutual business relationship from which they both can receive benefit. I loved Chimay's Red, now let's open up a bottle of Chimay Triple.  My bottle, as you ...

Hey everyone, I hope you've all been able to have a great weekend.  Today I am going to begin to explore the world of Chimay  as a result of a great Christmas present from my wife!  Hopefully along the way we can all learn something about this brewery/abbey that we did not know before. Chimay is a town in Belgium where the Scourmont Abbey resides.  The monks who live at the abbey operate a farm, a brewery and a cheese plant, all within the confines of the abbey.  The money the monks make selling their beer and cheese is used for the upkeep of Scourmont Abbey, and what is left they use for social services, such as aiding the poor and less fortunate. The Scourmont Abbey is known as a Trappist Abbey.  Monks who live at a Trappist Abbey follow the Rule of St. Benedict, which leads the monks to living a simple life, with no private possessions.  They live to follow their religion and to help those less fortunate.  It is important to note, that ...

Hey everyone.  Spent a laid back day at home today, only venturing out for a short while to stop at Walmart for some groceries and to pick up Chinese food for dinner.  I added a new page to the blog today, which contains links to state maps I have prepared that have markers for the breweries and brewpubs within each state.  Right now, I only have New Jersey and New York loaded up, but more will be coming soon.  This could be useful if you're planning a trip and want to make a few beer stops, or if you want to get to know the beer community in your area a little better.  If you find any breweries that are not included in the maps, feel free to send me a message or comment and let me know! Tonight I am drinking Lindemans Cuvee Rene, a gueuze lambic beer from Vlezenbeek, Belgium.  Gueuze is a blend of young and old lambic beer.  The lambic undergoes spontaneous fermentation, and is aged in oak barrels anywhere from 5 months to 3 years.  These l...

Hey everyone!  Thanks for stopping on by!  Tonight I am opening a bottle of Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale.  From the Monk's Cafe website , this Flemish Sour Ale is brewed in Belgium by the Van Steenberge brewery, specifically for Monk's Cafe.  The bottle contains this description of the beer:  "We blend young and old beers to make this mildly sour sour ale.  Light bodied with a lactic/sour nose and a bit of sweet and sour in the finish.  Very refreshing!"  Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale Brewery Van Steenberge No ABV on bottle, Untappd says 5.5% Best by:  Unable to quickly determine, only an indiscernible code printed on the label Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale pours a magnificent brown with a large, foamy off-white head.  The head subsided in a few minutes, but left a nice spot of fluff on top of the beer.  The aroma is tart and fruity, containing smells of cherries and raisins.  A little bit of vinegar, too. ...