Abbaye de Belval

This cheese is made by trappist monks, in a monastery situated in a hamlet in the commune of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise in the Pas-de-Calais. The monks produce a pressed, uncooked cheese made with raw cow’s milk, with a diameter of 22 to 25cm, a thickness of 5 to 6cm and a weight of 1.8 to 2kg. The cheese is matured for around 60 days.The rind is brushed regularly with beer, which gives it a brown colour. When ripe, the cheese develops a powerful flavour. Its pate is a blonde colour and is soft, but resists when pressed with the fingers. This cheese gives off an odour which is very enticing for cheese connoisseurs. 

Appearance of the Abbaye de Belval cheese: glossy rind, straw yellow to grey-yellow colour, with an ivory white coloured pate.
Odour of the Abbaye de Belval cheese: slight lactic odour
Texture of the Abbaye de Belval cheese: soft and fine
Taste of the Abbaye de Belval cheese: flavour only slightly pronounced.