The Chimay Blue is the beer that Belgians reach for when the occasion requires something they do not have to explain. It has been in continuous production since 1948, brewed by monks at Scourmont Abbey under conditions that have not changed in their essentials across seven decades. If you grew up in Belgium knowing this beer, you know exactly what it means to open one: a specific weight, a specific colour in the glass, a specific dark fruit warmth that arrives before the bottle is even poured. If you are Belgian and living in Tokyo or Kobe, finding it here is not a small thing.
One of the world’s most awarded Trappist ales
Bières de Chimay — the brewery of Scourmont Abbey — was founded in 1862 in Baileux, near Chimay in the Hainaut province of southern Belgium. The Blue was launched in 1948, initially as a Christmas release before becoming a year-round product. It is an authentic Trappist ale: brewed within the abbey walls under monastic supervision, with proceeds supporting the community and its charitable works. Over the decades since its launch, it has accumulated a record of recognition in international beer evaluation that makes it one of the most consistently awarded Trappist ales produced anywhere.
The style is a Belgian strong dark ale. The pour is deep brown with a tan head, and the flavour moves through dark fruit — raisin and prune, present and recognisable — into caramel malt sweetness, with light spice from the yeast and a warming finish that reflects the 9.0% ABV without making it the first thing you notice. The alcohol is integrated rather than forward, which is what allows the fruit and malt character to carry the beer across a full, slow glass. Like all Chimay beers, it is bottle-conditioned — live yeast remains in the bottle after packaging, continuing to develop the beer’s character over time.
How Chimay Blue 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 active use depending on where in Belgium you are standing. For a beer from the French-speaking south of the country, Santé is the natural choice, though either is correct at any Belgian table.
In Belgium, the Chimay Blue is the beer that earns its place at the serious end of a Sunday family lunch — the bottle opened after the main course, when the table has slowed and the afternoon has begun to extend beyond its original intention. Stoofvlees — Carbonnade Flamande, beef braised slowly in dark ale with onions and thyme until the liquid becomes a rich, sweet-savory glaze — is the pairing that the Blue was, in a practical sense, designed for. The dark fruit and caramel of the beer match the reduced braising liquid note for note. Moules-frites, Belgium’s most enduring dish, also works alongside it: the brine of the mussels sharpened against the malt sweetness of the beer, the fries providing salt and crunch between sips. Belgian fries with mayonnaise remain present at the table throughout, as they always are.
The tradition of visiting Trappist abbeys — making a genuine journey to Scourmont or Westmalle or Rochefort — gives Belgian beer culture a dimension that most other countries’ drinking traditions lack. The Blue carries that weight whether it is drunk at the abbey or opened in a Tokyo apartment.
How to drink it in Japan
The Chimay Blue is a cold-season beer in Japan — October through March, when the evenings in Tokyo and Kobe are cool enough that a strong dark ale with warming alcohol earns its place naturally. It is also the beer to open on the dates that gather Belgians together: Belgian National Day on July 21, St. Nicholas Day on December 6, or any evening that calls for something more considered than the usual round.
At Lawson, try it alongside a chocolate cornet — the sweet, cocoa-filled pastry available at the bakery counter. The dark fruit of the Blue and the mild chocolate of the filling occupy the same register, each making the other more apparent. For a composed pairing at home, serve it with nikujaga — the Japanese meat-and-potato stew braised in soy and mirin — which shares the same logic as Stoofvlees: slow-cooked, slightly sweet, built around braised meat in a reduced sauce. The cultural distance between the two dishes is considerable; the pairing logic is identical.
Trappist beer imports at Tokyo specialty bottle shops can run ¥1,100 or more per 330ml bottle. By the case from Omori Mart, the per-bottle cost is substantially lower, and a 330ml × 24 case keeps the shelf stocked through the winter season without requiring a repeat order every few weeks.
Get Chimay Blue Beer delivered in Japan
Chimay Blue 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 have earned their place on a serious shelf.
[Shop Chimay Blue Beer →]
https://omorimart.com/product/chimay-gold-beer-330ml-x-24-bottles/
Santé at Scourmont Abbey where the monks have brewed since 1862, and kanpai at a Tokyo table in December — the Blue has been the right bottle to open for a serious occasion since 1948, and that has not changed.
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