FirstBelgiumTrip »  Viewing C_the Abbaye     [Image 15 of 25]  :: $text.jump-to  
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On leaving the brewery, we stopped at the main entrance for a look inside the Abbaye. The grounds and the courtyard are really beautiful.
C_beer_fermenting * Early in the tour we see a new batch of Chimay fermenting. It doesn't get any prettier than this! * 1790 x 1153 * (130KB)

C_centrafug * Moving through the brewery, you find the same level of automation, perfection, and high standards of quality as we saw in the bottling plant. From the high-speed centrifuges to the stainless steel tubing. * 1228 x 1715 * (190KB)

C_under_tanks * The beer is moved from the fermenting tanks to the other stations via more stainless steel piping. The lab made you forget you were in a brewery. The testing, the research, the concern for the yeast was impressive. Of course, being a homebrewer, I made copious brewing notes that will be taken to the grave. * 1593 x 1181 * (213KB)

tast1 * At the end of the tour there was only one arduous task remaining... * 56 x 78 * (3KB)

C_tasting_comp * There was a tasting in progress and we sampled a week old red. The amount of hops taste was surprising! One of the WA guys commented that it reminded him of a northwest IPA. * 1781 x 1181 * (200KB)
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C_courtyard * Being cloistered, the only monks we saw were standing at prayer in the hallways. The folks at Chimay made our trip much more enjoyable than we could have hoped for. We thanked them for their hospitality and moved on. * 1772 x 1171 * (336KB)

C_Rochfort * But our beer day wasn't over. We continued on to Rochfort to see how our luck would work at Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy near Rochefort. * 1209 x 1753 * (219KB)

rochefort_4 * Talk about cloistered! No one was around, so we went into town to buy some #10 and #8. $1.10 per bottle... how much can we carry? Not enough! * 450 x 300 * (55KB)

Nome * 76 x 70 * (2KB)

chouffe_lable * Arriving around 6:30pm, I found Christian Bauweraerts getting ready to go home. While he was finding beer labels for my daughter Becky, my dad joined us. On seeing my dad's diamond soaring badge, he told us his glider stories. Before they had a name, they used artwork from a jacket patch from the '83 world championship in York, England. * 1581 x 1081 * (547KB)