Page 38 - Book-TradiAliCulture-Belgium

Belgium is known as the Country of Beer.
One thus cooks there also with beer.
One of the best known dishes is:
The Rabbit with prunes and beer, in particular with beer coming from
Chimay. The bases of this recipe go back to the Middle Ages

Where does the
« Chimay » beer

come from ?

Chimay is a French-speaking city of
Belgium located in the Walloon
Region in the Province of Hainaut.
Chimay is located in a large clearing,
opened in of the Ardennes Forest.
The « Chimay » beer is produced in
this city and more precisely with the
Abbey Our Lady of Scourmont.

The history of « Chimay »

In 1830, the Prince of Chimay invited the monks of the abbey of Westvleteren (in West Flanders) to
come and found a new abbey.
Since 1862, beer is produced starting from the water of the wells of the abbey.

After the Second World War, the monks took again possession of the abbey which had been
occupied by the Germans. All the tanks had been molten. It has thus been necessary to recreate the
whole brewery.
In 1948, Father Théodore de Haene joined the University of Leuven where he learned the beer
manufacturing with Father de Clerck. Together, they created a new brewers' yeast which is always
used for the manufacturing of the current beers of Chimay.

The “Chimay” is a Trappist beer which is neither filtered, nor pasteurized.

Folklore and tradition linked to rabbit

“Lost Monday”: It is a traditional festival which proceeds on the Monday following the Epiphany, that
is to say on the Monday after January 6.
The tradition of the “lost Monday” is still vivd in Tournai (Hainaut) and in the province of Antwerp.
During this festive meal, the rule wants that one eats rabbit. There is also another tradition: to draw
the “Tickets of the Kings”. (Explanations in the file on the Rombosse)

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