Beer – #45 – Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue)

Pushing the boat out a little tonight then. Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue)

Which is an impressive 750ml of a 9% ABV Belgium beer in a bottle that has a cork and wire trap. It’s a bit festival.

Chimay, brewed at the Notre-Dame de Scourmont Abbey, is one of the 6 Belgian beers that can carry the logo, “Authentic Trappist Product”,

That means that it is brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery under the control and responsibility of the community of monks, and whose revenue is devoted to social service. When they say within they mean close walking distance. and I also found out that there is an International Trappist Association.

This is a dark beer, and as a  top fermented Trappist beer, is re-fermented in the bottle, and is not pasteurised.

So then, the big question it really will it pour with a head, and I’m picking yes, I’ve not been let down on that front with a  Belgium beer before. The cork is excited to be free for a start, a pleasant pop. And you can hear the carbonation and see how fizzy it is in the glass. It’s a noisy beer. You can smell yeast too.

That’s a dark deep taste, quite sweet, deep, and I was surprised how the deep chestnut colour matched a taste I was expecting. I don’t know if that made sense though. It’s like there are raisins in it, which Isn’t unpleasant and this does have a nice length to it too, Licking my lips, trying to remember that this one comes with a well hidden 9% behind it.

I’m a fan of Belgium beer, and for that reason the arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter will score a high 9 from 10 arbitrary things for this. It’s fantastic, I’ve been looking forward to it and I’m pleased that I’m drinking it. Nothing bad to say except I was expecting some lacing on my glass which I didn’t get. The monks however did good with this one, and I’d suggest they keep their day jobs.

Related articles

• Belgian monks make heavenly beer (lfpress.com)
• Roald Smeets – Dubbel (roaldsmeetsbeerinbelgium.wordpress.com)