When a Prince gifts an entire abbey to 17 Cistercian monks, they take the opportunity to transform it into fertile farmland. After years of hard work, the monks completed the brewery (and cheese-making plant) in 1862. Chimay Brewery is inspiringly resilient; it not only managed to survive the destruction wrought by the Second World War, but it also managed to isolate a unique yeast strain while recovering from the devastations of the war! Today, Chimay Brewery is the biggest and one of the most well-known among the 11 Trappist breweries in the world. Chimay is not only known for its uniquely flavoured beers, thanks to the special yeast, but it is also known for producing world-class cheese that pair perfectly with its world-class beers!