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Now, just when you think it can't get any better than this, Jean Yernaux tells us that there is a group from the US which has a tour of both the bottling plant and the brewery and ask if we'd like to join. Are we dreaming?
C_hotel_100 * It was late when we arrived at the l'Auberge de Poteaupré and to our good fortune, there was a room available. ( I thought you made reservations!) * 700 x 288 * (45KB)

C_reserve * Then it was time for a Chimay... a '97 Grand Reserve. * 1781 x 1172 * (226KB)

C_restaurant * The next morning, having discovered that we were then only guests that night, we had a great breakfast in a beautifully decorated private dinning room. * 956 x 1050 * (1.66MB)
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C_hotel_comp * We said goodbye to Denis, who works at the hotel, and Jean escorted our car to the bottling plant. * 1553 x 1102 * (175KB)

C_washer * The bottle washer was an enormous unit that sorted out the non-Chimay bottles, cleaned the bottles and removed the old labels. Another unit tested the bottles for defects and removed them as necessary. * 1781 x 1171 * (246KB)

C_filler * The filling units handled about 38,000 bottles per hour... or about 16 per second! * 1818 x 1190 * (269KB)

C_storage * At the end, we saw the finished product, stored at 54f for a few weeks before being shipped. Note that the European distribution uses plastic cases for returnable bottles. No cans, any draft... necessary for quality control. We leave the bottling plant and head off to the Abbaye where we stop for a quick photo op of the front entrance. * 1218 x 1453 * (249KB)

C_abbeye * Inside we meet the head brewer Paul Arnott, a Scotsman! Ok, so the monks don't stir the beer by hand... another vision dispelled. * 1790 x 1153 * (222KB)