3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Pretty old 11.2oz bottle. To the best of my knowledge, this is from about 2001 or 2002. Wasn’t sure what to expect from this, seeing as it’s the smallest of the Chimay beers. Pours pretty dark red and hazy with a foamy head that fades to a nice ring around the glass edge. Nose is fruity and floral, with a little bit of a bubblegum-like note. Flavor has a lot of medium-dark malt, semi-sweet, and there’s some yeast presence as well. A fairly sharp carbonation, which surprised me for a beer that’s this old. No evidence of oxidation, as far as I can tell. All in all, I was expecting this to be past its prime, but it seems to have held up nicely.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Cork and cage bottle. Hazy brown pour with an off white foamy head and some nice large particles. Aroma is yeasty, bread, caramel, apples. Flavor is yeasty, tortilla, bread, and sweet.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Refigerated bottle poured into a trappist glass. Pours medium brown with nice off-white head. Head goes away fairly quickly for a trappist beer. Taste is dark fruit and has medium carbonation. Not the best double I have had, but good.
3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pours amber with thin white head that goes away quickly. Notes of raisin and plum in this, but very light on those. Hits the palate with a pretty strong dry flavor, that finishes clean.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 15/20
Dark brown with a dense beige head. Aroma is malty with candy like esters. Flavour is also malty, very round and fruity but with less yeasty flavours than the nose delivers. Body drags this one down for me, too fizzy with sharp carbonation, needs a long time to settle in the glass.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Vintage 2008. Serving date: 2009-01-21. Served in snifter.
330 ml bottle with freshness date (Best before end of 2012) and recommended serving temperature, glassware and cellaring procedure on the label.
Dark copper color with a 2,5 cm brown-shaded and sparkling head that dissipates rather fast and leaves some small lacings.
A general sweet and fruity smell (kind of like ripe apricots), soft chocolate nougat and notes or grass sits firmly on a backbone of yeast and spices.
At first, sweet malts, fruits and bread hits the taste buds. Then, a mild yeast note and a distinct spicy flavor - primarily cloves - takes over for a while before the finish. It’s just slightly vinous. The finish is characterized by a gentle bitterness, even more gentle tartness and spices. Towards the end, it develops a nice caramel flavor.
Medium body, nice and lively carbonation. Very nice mouthfeel.
A very well-composed beer with interesting, pleasant and sometimes subtle notes to be discovered.
Serving type: bottle
(Copy of old Beer Advocate review)
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
750 mL bottle from my local Farm Fresh, purchased 1 year ago. Reddish-brown pour with a huge, foamy off-white head. Aroma of pear, apple, grape, brown sugar and Belgian yeast. Flavor is mostly raisin and apple peel with some Belgian candi sugar. A good beer but probably my least favorite of the Chimay beers.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
330mL bottle poured into a Chimay goblet. Cloudy copper color with not much head. There is a nice sweet smell of raisins, molasses, and yeast. Medium mouthfeel and flavor is of fruits, malt, and yeast. There is a bit of bitterness to balance it out. This is quite drinkable at 7% abv. Overall a great dubbel.
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