Chimay Rouge (Red) / Première

Brewed by Chimay
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Baileux, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass

Location: 33 ml bottle from Costco in Richmond, 9/24/11

Aroma: The nose is fairly sweet, with caramel malts, some dark fruits, Belgian yeast, and spice
Appearance: The pour is a cloudy dark orange-brown with a thick and creamy, lasting, lacy beige crown
Flavor: The taste is medium sweet, with a Belgian yeast, roasted caramel malts, and some fruity notes
Palate: The body is medium-full with a creamy and chewy mouthfeel, and soft-to-average carbonation
Overall Impression: It’s fairly surprising to see that I got all the way to rating 1885 before entering one for Chimay Red, but somehow I managed. I like this beer, but I don’t really tend to order/buy it very often for some reason, but when I walked into Costco and saw this 3 pack (Red, White, and Blue) + a glass offering for like $12 I couldn’t resist. That’s a heck of a deal! So, I, of course, enjoyed this one in my new Chimay glass. This one is so easy to find, that it probably doesn’t the respect it deserves, but it is a really good beer. I won’t hold it’s accessability against it, if anything, that should be a plus, becuase they make so much of it and they still make it so well. It is about time that I got around to inputing a rating for this one, and I look forward to getting new/updated versions of the other two up here soon.

UPDATED: SEP 26, 2011 33ml, wine glass. Audibly fizzy. Cloudy, copper brown. Beige head diminishing to thin, patchy. Small bubbles. Sweet, fruity smell, not unlike a wine. Sweet malts, spicy aftertaste, light bitterness with time. Palate thin, overcarbonated. Overall not much depth and carbonation reduces pleasantness.

This brew poured up a murky mahogany colored body with an enormous frothy head with amazing retention and lacing effects. Aromas of sweet malts, spices, and peppers. Flavors of the same along with cloves, dark fruits (dates and plums), and warm hints of chocolate. Medium-bodied with a dry finish and lingering aftertastes of sweet malts and spices. This brew improves as it warms after pouring.

33cl bottle with red label. small beige foam, light and quickly disappearing, over an hazy, copper brown liquid. aroma: dried plums, raspberry and yeasts. taste sweet with some fruity tartness in the final. good alcohol feeling with the right carbonation to sustain it. body is lighter than expected

33cl Bottle. Lovely aroma of fruit, raisins and caramel. Pours a medium off white head which fades quickly, dark red in colour. Flavour is initially sweet with a slightly acidic after taste which stays in the mouth for a good while. Texture is smooth and creamy.

Bottle from Csakajosor.hu. Poured murky, dark burgundy-brown color and a beige lively foam that eventually became a lacing one. Plum, caramel, cinnamon, mints, cellar, hops in the aroma. Not as dense as I expected, with pretty high carbonation. Sweet taste, which becomes even sweeter in the aftertaste. Good one.

pours a copper brownish red with a nice off white head that laces nicely. the nose is of sweet summer fruit, plums, apricot, light malts and grains. A very balanced beer that is a good option to bring to dinner at a non craft fans house.

Deep reddish brown pour with a thick creamy head. Smooth malty taste creamy body, slightly sweet with hints of clove, caramel and fruit. Aroma is a little oxidized, a little sweet and some earthy hop notes. Classy beer.