Chimay Bleue (Blue) / Grande Réserve

Brewed by Chimay
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Baileux, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Pours medium dark brown with a thick beige head that sticks around. Fresh aroma of caramel and sugar with yeast. Spritzy on the palate with lots of flavor. Medium mouth feel.

Brown coloured beer with small white head and medium carbonation. Fruity sweet aroma. Full sparkling palate. Finish is roasted sweet with some nice spicy touches and hoppy hints. Nice one!

2010 Bottle, cellared for around 9months
Bottle (330ml) sampled at home from a Brewdog branded teku glass:

Surprisingly sweet but still not overly, it smells of dark roasted malts and a strong but very pleasant alcohol aroma to it. There is a fair bit of fruit to this one as well like dates and perhaps some fig. I also detected some brown sugar and vanilla as well but this seems to come and go. As the beer sits and gets a chance to open up a little some chocolate and spice become more pronounced as well. A very complex smelling beer & one that is great on the nose.
Pours a dark sort of reddish brown almost chestnut colour with a tan white head about two fingers width high. The head appears quite bubbly that stays put for quite some time before finally reducing to a thin lacing over the surface of the beer. It may have something to do with the fancy teku glass I poured it into but even after the head recedes this one still looks fantastic.
Again quite sweet upfront with a a faint alcohol kick to it that is part sugar, part spice. Some good chocolatey malts and hints of caramel along with the dark fruits noted in the smell. An amazing taste to this one with a malty sweetness and a great creamy taste added to the fact the beer is incredibly well balanced and tastes great.
Medium bodied and quite rich on the palate with medium carbonation. It is really smooth and goes down much easier than a 9% beer should. There is still a solid alcohol kick to it and the finish is relatively light in bitterness.

Simply amazing, this beer is without a doubt one of the best I have tried so far. It has great depth and an fantastic smell coupled with a solid feel and brilliant taste, it’s almost perfect. No doubt one that I’ll find myself going back to time and time again, perhaps not quite as much as some slightly less rich beers but definitely a world class ale & one that you should definitely try if you haven’t already. I’ll be picking up a few more of these to cellar pretty soon.

Featured in my 1001 Beers to Try Before You Die Blog:

Ikke særlig kraftig, noget ubestemmelig duft. Ikke så kraftlig men behagelig belgisk smag. Lidt umami. Bemærkning: smagt i pilsner-glas lige efter stout.

Bottle poured into Chimay’s own glass. Pours deep reddish brown with a thick offwhite head. Smells similar to the other Chimay brews.. slightly more aromatic. Velvet smooth finish.. as is typical. A great beer.

Dark amber appearance with a frothy head when poured. Taste is malty but has a light biscuity finish. The alcohol is present but nicely hidden with the carbonation and the dark toasty malt base. A great beer to have on a chilly autumn Saturday. Best when served cold. A highly recommended Belgian Strong to have in your refrigerator.

Bottle.. it pours dark brown with a large beige head.... the aroma is belgian yeast, fruity notes and brown sugar.... the flavor is sweet, brown sugar, spicy, caramel and some alcohol.... very nice..... :)

UPDATED: FEB 10, 2012 Bottle from Vinmonopolet Halden, Norway. Dark colour with a tan head. Moderate sweet and some dark fruit in tha aroma. Well balanced flavour. Moderate sweet, light spicy and some fruity notes. Lovely

Bottle> Deep brown color, Thick head. Smells of plums, fruit and chocolate. Taste is malty wuith a bready lumpy plum flavor, Really good

Poured a dark brown or maybe burnt copper color and off white foam that was lacey. Aromas bread, some sort of fruit, i think pepper? and slight hops. Taste was malty but sweet, very sweet with a fruity peppered taste. strong after taste that held me wanting more...great beer, happy night for this guy