Recently I have become a married man. We honeymooned in Florida and Mexico (not Belgium unfortunately). The only decent beer I have had in the last two weeks was a Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, which was excellent. However, no Belgium beer for two weeks makes the Belgian Beer Blogger a very sad man. So I went out and got myself a Trappist Beer as a welcome home present.
Chimay Blue- 9%- Notre-Dame de Scourmont Abbey- Chimay.
The Backstory
Firstly, this is a Trappist beer which means that it is brewed by monks. The monastery first started brewing in 1862. The Chimay Blue was first brewed in 1948 as a Christmas beer which is the reason for it's 'vintage'. Chimay can also be kept for several years, in time which I am sure it would mature in flavour.
Appearance
The bottle has embossing on the neck which states the name of the Abbey. The graphics are nice and clear, although my dad thought that it was a Chinese beer due to the slightly 'oriental' font style.
The beer itself is dark and on the first glance looks like it is just a dark brown. There is a redness to the beer... it almost reminds me of a ruby mild. In terms of effervescence there is initially a good head to the beer but this disperses quickly to form a lace like film on the top of the beer.
Smell
For me I get the hit of alcohol immediately when I smell Chimay. Then I can smell a rich malty caramel aroma.
Taste
This beer is rich and definitely not for the fainthearted. Although I can taste the alcohol in Chimay Blue, it isn't the first flavour that I get.
I can taste banana and caramel. Then there is a good burn from the alcohol. The aftertaste then comes along which is warming and quite dry.
Overall
A great beer. One that you would, one way or another end a night with. Whether you wanted to end the night or not. The alcohol content in this means that it is not a session ale. The beer though is excellent and hugely enjoyable. Would I drunk again...yes...but not a lot of it.
Chimay Blue- 9%- Notre-Dame de Scourmont Abbey- Chimay.
The Backstory
Firstly, this is a Trappist beer which means that it is brewed by monks. The monastery first started brewing in 1862. The Chimay Blue was first brewed in 1948 as a Christmas beer which is the reason for it's 'vintage'. Chimay can also be kept for several years, in time which I am sure it would mature in flavour.
Appearance
The bottle has embossing on the neck which states the name of the Abbey. The graphics are nice and clear, although my dad thought that it was a Chinese beer due to the slightly 'oriental' font style.
The beer itself is dark and on the first glance looks like it is just a dark brown. There is a redness to the beer... it almost reminds me of a ruby mild. In terms of effervescence there is initially a good head to the beer but this disperses quickly to form a lace like film on the top of the beer.
Smell
For me I get the hit of alcohol immediately when I smell Chimay. Then I can smell a rich malty caramel aroma.
Taste
This beer is rich and definitely not for the fainthearted. Although I can taste the alcohol in Chimay Blue, it isn't the first flavour that I get.
I can taste banana and caramel. Then there is a good burn from the alcohol. The aftertaste then comes along which is warming and quite dry.
Overall
A great beer. One that you would, one way or another end a night with. Whether you wanted to end the night or not. The alcohol content in this means that it is not a session ale. The beer though is excellent and hugely enjoyable. Would I drunk again...yes...but not a lot of it.