In 2012, the monks of Scourmont Abbey marked one hundred and fifty years of brewing by releasing a beer that sits outside their standard range. The Green Cap is not the Chimay Red, which most Belgians encounter first. It is not the Blue, which most people reach for on a serious occasion. It is something brewed specifically for an anniversary — a Trappist tripel at 10.0% ABV that the abbey put into the world to mark a century and a half of work, and then kept producing because the beer earned its place. If you are Belgian and living in Tokyo, the Green Cap is the Chimay that most requires explanation. It is also the one most worth seeking out.
A Trappist anniversary beer, brewed since 2012
Bières de Chimay — the brewery of Scourmont Abbey — was founded in 1862 in Baileux, near Chimay in the Hainaut province of southern Belgium. The abbey is one of the world’s authentic Trappist breweries: production is conducted by or under the direct supervision of the monks, the brewery is located within the abbey walls, and proceeds support the monastic community and charitable works. The Green Cap was launched in 2012 to mark the brewery’s 150th anniversary, making it the youngest expression in the Chimay range and the only one conceived as a commemorative release that became a permanent addition.
The style is a Trappist tripel. The pour is deep gold — pale for its strength — and the yeast character is pronounced: fruity and spicy, the esters and phenols of a high-gravity Belgian fermentation working at full effect. Malt sweetness provides body and balance, and the warming finish from the 10.0% ABV arrives with intention. This is a beer for slow drinking, opened deliberately, given time in the glass before the first sip. At this strength, the temperature at which it is served matters — too cold and the yeast character closes down; allowed to rise slightly toward cellar temperature, the fruit and spice open fully.
How CHIMAY 150 GREEN CAP Beer is drunk at home
Santé! / Op uw gezondheid! (sahn-TAY / op-uw geh-ZONT-hayt) — French and Flemish respectively, both meaning “to your health,” both in daily use depending on which side of Belgium’s linguistic boundary you stand. For a beer of this provenance, either toast is appropriate.
In Belgium, Chimay occupies a specific position: it is the beer that appears at the table when the occasion has weight. A Sunday family lunch that moves through multiple beers across courses might arrive at the Green Cap toward the end — after the moules-frites, after the Stoofvlees, when the table has slowed and conversation has taken over from eating. Stoofvlees — Carbonnade Flamande, beef braised slowly in dark beer with onions until the liquid reduces to a glossy, sweet-savory stew — is the pairing that handles the malt sweetness and fruity yeast of the Green Cap with the most authority. Belgian fries with mayonnaise, present at almost every Belgian table regardless of the occasion, provide the salt and fat that a strong, sweet beer always benefits from.
The tradition of abbey pilgrimage — visiting Trappist breweries as a form of secular devotion — gives Chimay a particular cultural standing in Belgium that goes beyond what the beer tastes like. The Green Cap carries that weight.
How to drink it in Japan
The CHIMAY 150 GREEN CAP is a cold-season beer in Japan — November through February, when Tokyo evenings are sharp enough that a warming finish at 10.0% ABV is a feature rather than a consideration to manage. It is also the beer to open when the calendar provides a reason: Belgian National Day on July 21, St. Nicholas Day on December 6, or any gathering of Belgians in Tokyo that calls for something beyond the standard pour.
At FamilyMart, try it alongside a walnut or cheese pastry from the bakery counter — the buttery, slightly sweet dough mirrors the malt character of the beer without competing with the yeast complexity. For a considered pairing at home, serve it with aged Japanese cheese or a slab of dark chocolate above 70% cacao. The fruit and spice of the Green Cap and the bitterness of dark chocolate occupy complementary registers, each clarifying the other. It is a pairing that requires nothing elaborate beyond opening the bottle at the right moment.
Trappist beer imports in Tokyo specialty shops regularly reach ¥1,200 or more per 330ml bottle. By the case from Omori Mart, the per-bottle cost is considerably lower — and the 330ml × 24 case means a supply that lasts the season rather than one evening.
Get CHIMAY 150 GREEN CAP Beer delivered in Japan
CHIMAY 150 GREEN CAP Beer is available from Omori Mart in a 330ml × 24 bottle case, delivered nationwide across Japan.
- Free shipping on orders over ¥15,000
- Pay at FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, or Lawson — or by bank transfer or card
- Nationwide delivery to any address in Japan
Rakuten and Amazon Japan do not carry this label. Omori Mart is where Belgians in Japan find the Trappist beers that belong on a serious shelf.
[Shop CHIMAY 150 GREEN CAP Beer →]
https://omorimart.com/product/chimay-150-green-cap-beer-330ml-x-24-bottles/
Santé in the abbey grounds at Scourmont where the monks have brewed since 1862, and kanpai at a Tokyo table in December — one hundred and fifty years of practice, and the Green Cap is what they chose to mark it with.
No products in the cart.