“Abbey Road”
Country: Belgium
Brand: Chimay Blue 2014 (Grande Reserve)
Brewery: Scourmont Abbey (SA Bieres de Chimay, Baileux)
Package: Bottle (33 cl)
Package: Bottle (33 cl)
Type: Belgian Dark Strong Ale (Trappist)
Age: NAS
ABV: 9 %
Ingredients: Water, Malted Barley, Hop Extract, Yeast, Wheat Starch, Sugar and Malt Extract.
Antioxidant: Not Indicated
Stabiliser: Not Indicated
Gift from my friend Alexandre. Thanks a lot!
Colour: Dark Brown
Foam: Nice Off-White Foam that dissolves too quickly. Only a Creamy but Thin layer remains in the glass while drinking your Chimay Blue. Hardly any laces remain in the glass once you have finished it.
Antioxidant: Not Indicated
Stabiliser: Not Indicated
Gift from my friend Alexandre. Thanks a lot!
Colour: Dark Brown
Foam: Nice Off-White Foam that dissolves too quickly. Only a Creamy but Thin layer remains in the glass while drinking your Chimay Blue. Hardly any laces remain in the glass once you have finished it.
Nose: Sweet and Malty with Toffee, Whole Grain Bread, Yeast, Demerara Sugar, Treacle, Nutella, Black Currant Marmalade, Apples and Christmas Spices.
Finish: Quite Long and Bitter-Sweet with Malt, Yeast, Black Currants, Espresso, Dried Fruits, Dry Earth and Butterscotch Chocolate. A light Metal Off-Note right at the end.
Palate: Relatively Rich, Bitter-Sweet, Yeasty and slightly Sour. I find Caramel, Toffee, Butterscotch, Treacle, Malt, light Hops, Toasted Grain, light Vanilla, Dry Earth, Dried Herbs, Raisins, ripe Bananas, Pepper, Nutmeg and Cloves. The Alcohol is nicely integrated. The Carbonation is adequate, perhaps a tad too high for this type of Ale.
Finish: Quite Long and Bitter-Sweet with Malt, Yeast, Black Currants, Espresso, Dried Fruits, Dry Earth and Butterscotch Chocolate. A light Metal Off-Note right at the end.
Rating: *******1/2 (Seven and a Half out of Ten)
Jan van den Ende June 1, 2015
The Scourmont Abbey
General Remarks: The Chimay Brewery was founded in 1862 and is located in the Scourmont Abbey and is one of the 11 Breweries in the world that produce Trappist Beer. The Beer is sold to support the monastery as well as selected charities and community development in the region. The Water for the beer is drawn from a well inside the monastery. The bottling plant is located outside the monastery and the beer is re-fermented in the bottles for around three weeks. Half the production is exported all over the world. Chimay produces three main beers, the Red with a Sweet Fruity Aroma at 7%, the slightly Bitter Blue at 9% and the hopped Triple at 8%. For their own consumption, the monks brew the Golden expression, a lighter and paler Ale bottled at 4.8%. Since 1876, the Abbey also produces Cheese. The Chimay Blue was initially brewed as a special Christmas beer, hence it carries a vintage on the label. I'm tasting the 2014 today. The Chimay Blue is not pasteurised and is said to improve its flavours over the years but I'm not patient enough in this respect. And it's really quite expensive here in Brazil at around 9 US Dollars for a 33 CL Bottle (May 2015) so I won't be stocking this Ale to see what happens in the future!
The four Chimay Beers with Blue in the Glass
Drinking Experience: Good.
Conclusion: Chimay Blue is clearly a Beer made for sipping on a cold and rainy winter evening with a good book for companion. The ABV is a bit too high to consider having more than one or two in a session although the Alcohol is nicely integrated. This is my first Chimay and I must say I had expected a bit more. The Foam dissolves too quickly and the Delivery is slightly more watery than I had come to expect. I also find it a bit too Yeasty and I could live without the light Metal Off-Note in the Finish. Despite these little flaws however, the Chimay Blue is still a nice Ale and I look forward to try the other expressions from the Scourmont Abbey as well.
Jan van den Ende June 1, 2015
