Chimay may be the name of the beer. But the abbey itself is actually called Scourmont Abbey. It dates from 1850, a time when a few hardy Trappist monks from Westvleteren Abbey were looking for a new challenge. The remote Scourmount plateau, in Hainaut, seemed the ideal locale. 17 monks arrived here that year, and began cultivating a stony plot of land, donated by local Prince Joseph de Chimay. From an area of 2.5 hectares, 2,600 cubic metres of stone were dug out of the soil. The abbey was initially sustained by the proceeds of agriculture, won from that unpromising soil. At first the monks purchased their refectory beer from the local breweries, but self-sufficiency in all matters was important to these followers of the Benedectine way. So by 1862, Chimay abbey had started brewing beer, initially for the monks’ own use only. The first brew was a described as a ‘double Bock beer, Bayern style’. But they didn't rest there. A high-fermentation dark beer, inspired by the produce of Westvleteren, soon followed, laying down the first page of a what was to become a brewing legend. Chimay comercializes 4 different types of beer nowadays.