Chimay Bleue (Blue)

Brewed by Chimay
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Baileux, Belgium

Small head, not much aroma, taste was smooth, not harsh, but not long lasting. just a hint of sweeetness

Nice belgian quality brew. Taste gets better along the way. Little spicy and a bit sour like in the beginning, but gets sweeter and more malty. Very enjoyable. 4 sept. 2005: had the Chimay 1999. Very enjoyable and complex taste. Let it stand a little time for good taste. 16 febr. 2006: had the Chimay 1999 again. This time at the start the taste is very dry and port-like. After a while the brew calms down and the flavor becomes very smooth. Very enjoyable!

Dark chestnut brown pour, bright edges. Lasting crown. Nose of candied plums and cherries lilts into soft toffee malts. Somewhat intense, rather ordinary, and synthetic. The malts carry a bit of seamist and campfire smoke character. Subdued sweetness in pear skins and lemon sugars eventually overcomes a rough metallic edge. Finishing taste of earthy pine nuts. Very dry palate, in a cabernet sort of way. Somehow uninspiring.

One of my favorite Belgians. Pours a deep copper/brown with a malty nose with some sweet dried fruit influences that carry into the taste, which has a complex flavor, and is supported beautifully by the aroma.

From a 750 ml. Pours a deep brownish red color with a thick and lasting white head. The nose is distinctly yeasty. The flavor is also dominated by the yeast with some hints of raisin. Although I find this beer enjoyable, this is not a spectacular trappist beer. I think this is slightly overrated.

RE-RE-RATE: Okay, I’m rating this on the strength of some 1995 vintage that I just had, which is an order of magnitude better than any food or drink that I have ever consumed. Any beer with the potential to reach such greatness deserves such a rating, and it would get a solid 5.0 if it were like this all the time. Incredible!! Yeasty, champagnelike aroma. Wine-ish, absolutely wonderful malty presence. The complexity of this by far exceeds anything else I have ever tasted. Where do I start? Apples, pears, chocolate, prominent and somewhat Westvleteren-like yeast that I can still taste in my mouth an hour later. I can’t imagine how good this would be after 10 or 15 years. RE-RATE #1: I have to re-rate this as one of my top 5. In a time when I’m trying to have as many new beers as possible, this is something that I keep buying and coming back to. Chimay Bleu : beer snob :: Budweiser : redneck. Great stuff. Fruity taste, complex, caramel, woodiness, slight nut. Malty finish, good balance, TONS of head. I brought a bottle of this to a party the other night that had 3 kegs of Lone Star, just so I could be as out of place as possible. I theorized that if I tapped anything from the kegs into my Chimay chalices, they would instantly shatter. RE-RATE: Just had to give it another point, this is one that I always come back to! No better way to end a stressful week than downing a 750 of this and some good food.

75cl bottle., deep ruby-garnet color, almost opaque. malty fruity flavor. detect figs and prunes in the flavor. reminds me quite a bit of Orval. high alcohol, but you’d never know it by the flavor.

very dark beer, remarkable and strong palate, but no particular taste.