Chimay Bleue (Blue) / Grande Réserve

Brewed by Chimay
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Baileux, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Pours a cloudy brown, good bit of tannish foam that settles quickly. Aroma is bready/yeasty with some nice citrus fruit. Taste is sweet with a sour/tart contribution from the fruit. Lots going on here: bread, nutty, some dark fruit. Great stuff.

Pours an orange around the edge with a cloudy blueish center.The aroma is a nice sweet fruit.The flavor is like the aroma but with more of a banana note to it.The finish is smooth with a mild banana aftertaste.Overall another very good beer from belgium.

Strong aroma of yeast and apricot. Dark red-brown appearance. Very busy taste, its got apricot and cherry and raisin and unlike other reviewers have said, the alcohol can be tasted but this is not a bad thing as it just adds another layer to the flavor. The palate is a bit bubbly for my liking but otherwise a very enjoyable brew.

Wow, this is a real Belgian! Aroma is plums and apricots ..lots of sweetness. The mouthfeel is great, perfect carbonation and body...not too heavy. Tastes of bread and toffee prevail. This is a sneaker...the 9% is well hidden as others have said, but it creeps up on you. Wow, this is a terrific brew

Pours a nice deep amber/bronze, smells of dark fruits with a hint of caramel...tastes strongly of dried fruits, toffee, with a slight alcohol bite. Does a very good job concealing the 9%abv, excellent beer.

Murky brown with a soft khaki head which fades quickly into a thin film lined by a thicker collar. That’s okay. As big as my Blue is, I don’t expect all that much head to linger around; it’d just get in the way of her nose. Melted brown sugar, nutmeg, and molasses are slather atop candied fruits: prunes, dates, figs, and raisins. A dash more candied sugar and I move right into a vineyard of black grapes and fine ruby Porto. More brown sugar sprinkles and visions of Christmas cake, hold the sugarplums, bring me to canned black cherries. Oh yes, heaven is here once more and all is right in my world. As much as I could smell my Chimay all day long, there be drinking to be done. Some will pooh-pooh the effervescence brought on by bottle-conditioning, but Blue is a rich sweet heavy brew whose playful effervescence serves the very important task of cleansing your palate for a continually pleasurable quaffing session without being overpowered by cloying sweetness. Molasses and spice mingle with nutmeg while my tastebuds take in the fruit-felt bounty of raisins, prunes, black cherries (fresh and canned), and grapes before ending in licorice. There is a pervasive candied sugar sweetness which isn’t overpowering thanks in part to her effervescent body. Her palate centers all immediate pleasures on the top of my tongue, though as we further our temptuous relationship, the back of my tongue and throat dries with spice and wood. For a brief moment, I have flashes of tropical paradise in the form of candied pineapple, and then she is gone. As my Blue warms, her flavors continue to melt into, with, and around each other in practiced Belgian Trappist artistry. As ruby Porto warms my body and soul, I find my Chimay chalice empty. That’s okay though; I still have the other half of my 750ml bottle to savor further.

I can definitely taste how with more age the Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue) would grow drier and develop richer ruby Porto notes. The potential was already there and growing with just a little over a year in the bottle. A beer to enjoy fresh and laid down, never buy just one.

Finally tried the Chimay blue cap, so much legend and expectations behind this beer it’ll be hard to rate this objectively. Its a dark ale and has all the right characteristics. Mild, slightly sweet flavor and head. Mouthfeel is more viscous than I expected judging by the color and the way it poured. Finishes nicely with a slightly bitter aftertaste at the top of the throat.

Bottle from warehouse wine. Pours a murky brown, almost cooper. Medium head. Aroma is yeast, banana, citrus. Taste is good, banana citrus, maybe some apples, pretty fruity. Palate is good with medium mouthfeel. Smooth finish. Pretty good beer overall.