Sweet Heaven above...

I got destroyed the other night on a few bottles of Chimay (Blue label).

I like beer. I like good beer. This is one of them. It's pricey but worth it. Best of the six true trappist ales out there IMHO.

There is a trappist monastery in Oka just outside of Montreal. They make cheese.

The beer is made in Belgium however. I buy some Chimay as gifts for beer drinking friends.

I fell in love with Chimay two years ago after my cousin recommended it. It is pricey, but its a great beer at home for special occassions. You do have to be careful though, it's around 9% alcohol, so it gets you messed up pretty quick.

quote:

Originally posted by JSprizzle:
Sweet Heaven above...

I got destroyed the other night on a few bottles of Chimay (Blue label).

I like beer. I like good beer. This is one of them. It's pricey but worth it. Best of the six true trappist ales out there IMHO.

couldn't agree more. Chimay is the best Trappist imho

I like Chimay. I am also a big fan of Orval.

We have a Trappist Monastery near by as well. But like the one near QM they make cheese. The b@stards...

chimay makes cheese too

i hear you...i could almost live on Rochefort 10 and Westmalle double.....although due to price I drink a lot more Allagash (portland ME, only brews beer in the strictest belgian fashion). much more affordable....their Tripel Reserve is very very high on my list. the cool thing is they make tripel and dobbel in a regular low cost version sold in 12oz bottle 4 packs, and then the tripel and dubbel reserve in 750ml , which are both near perfection, and still cheaper than many of the Beglain greats. Check 'em out.

now i'm thirsty. tonight might be a thick Rochefort 10 and a strong BBF!!!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bombardier,

I have never tried a trappist ale. I love beer. Not just bud light, but some of the local micros, Bass, Guinness, Blue Moon. If I were to try a Chimay, what should I expect in comparison to the likes of what I am drinking?

in a word...complexity. although once you try these belgian beauties you'll be hooked, and they aren't cheap. most are suitible for cellaring due to higher alcohol. once you get up into bouble digit abv they'll keep for many years, and get better.

trappists are Westmalle, Westvleteren, Chimay, Rochefort, Orval and Achel.

they are several styles. try these see the diversity
Rochefort 10 - a dark ale, about $6.50 a 12oz bottle, but you'll only need one. 11% abv. this thick ale looks almost like milk chocolate. thick and tasty w/o being like a milk shake, nice sweet notes and yeasty, a common note is "liquid bread". feels like a meal, awesome. had one last night simply amazing.

Pick up a tripel and Dubbel of any make. Dubbles are malty and heavy with dark color with abv. around 7-8%, tripels are lighter in color and body than Dubbels (by Belgian standards) with higher abv around 9-11%....i could drink a tripel every day. some nice fruitier flavor and hints of spice, great with a cigar as it won't overpower the smoke like a rochefort or dubbel can.

all these beers just coat your palate, and although they cost more you will find yourself drinking a lot less because 1) your mouth is satisfied and you don't chug it, unike a bud light which you can't taste and forget about it once the bottle leaves your lips and 2) higher alcohol so you'll still tie on a nice buzz!

you should also try other belgian styles this site has a good start
http://www.belgianstyle.com/mmguide/style/saison.html

you will also find sites like http://www.beeradvocate.com helpful as well as ratings are based off user comments and have great traffic say they are usually spot one.

Wow, thank you for the in depth reply Bombardier. I will have to look into these sites. I am curious and will be trying some soon...probably next week since I am working every day this week 12 hours/day. Thanks again.

I really appreciated all the info too. I have seen the ale in the local shop but felt lost as to what I might want to try and why they were so expensive.
There must be a hundred different beers in the store these days.

yup a hundred beers...and a lot bad...seems most beers are making in shelves based on cool and unique bottle artwork or names. but just like with wine and cigars the orginal is always best (bordeaux and cuba and beglium for beer) and yes i realize beer/wine starting in the middle east, but i mean perfected.

I've mentioned it a million time people might think i work for them..but a great lower cost US belgian beer brewer is Allagash. their Tripel Reserve and Grand Cru Reserve are amazing, and at $6-$7 for a 750ml very affordable option.

i'm almost excited for you to try these beers, they'll blow you always, they still blow me away everytime.

I went out on your advice and bought a small bottle of Chimay ale marked triple with a tan label, a bottle of Chimay with a blue label, and a bottle of delirium tremons ale.
Will try one tonight.

all good choices, i prefer the chimays to the delirium....it should take the first 5-6 pulls to get used to what beer is supposed to taste like so don't make a decision based on mouthful 1...buy the time you get 1/2 through the brews you'll be hooked...enjoy!

Bombadier:
I hope that my writing is not slurred.
I poured the blue label chimay into a tall glass. I have never seen so much foam in my life. I poured it gently but ended up with 6 inches of foam.
It was excellent. I had a H de M DC CC and my Sherlock Holmes book. Sat outside on a cool fall day after a long day of work. The only thing that I was missing was some good sharp cheese and crackers that would have really added to the day. The Ale was really different and from the start, I could see what you meant about it being different and real beer. What a nice creamy flavor. It kept bubbling in the glass the whole time. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had some reservation about spending what seemed to be a lot ($5.69) on a small bottle of ale but it was well worth it.
What can you tell me about the different label color varieties of Chimay?
Anyway, thanks for the great tip. I enjoyed it immensely and can see that one more and I would have been staggering!!! Great stuff.
Bob

Yikes, I think I am a bit looped. Time for a nap. It will be all your fault, you know!!!!
I think I had better eat some food.

ha, I also went out and bought some chimay last night. I never had it before and was quite interested in this thread. I had 2 bottles of the blue label (only one they had) while playing chess with my buddy. very nice body to it, almost fruity sweetness to it. It was heavy but not like a stout. Same as puffingaway, tonnes of head, first one I poored had a good 10cm of head. Second one I took slower and still had about 5cm of head. Nice colour to the head also, kinda purpley. Thanks for the good recomendation bombardier.

oh ya, this is the first vintage beer i have ever had. Unfortunatly i cant remember the year on the bottle. Very cool though. Any other sugestions for vintage beer? As the chimay gets older what does it taste like?

more converts!! now go out and hit all the trappists, i'm a huge beligian ale fan, the other styles are interesting as well but some with a lot of wheat (am not a wheat beer kind of guy).

i do not have much experience with aging, but i can tell you generally they get sweeters towards a port or sherry. I prefer mine fresh though, but maybe its because my palate isn't yet developed.

funny you mentioned cheese...its a widely accepted and sometimes demanded accompliment to beglian beers, you get a cheese aficianado and a beglian beer aficianado in a room and its all over.

as for colors. red is a Double, white is the triple and blue is a strong dark ale...if you like the blue try to find a magnum bottle, called Grand Reserve...same beer but the second fermentation that take place in the bottle is different...like with champagne the more volume in the magnum allows for a better fuller second fermentation....if that's not enough, its just cool as hell to pop a magnum of anything....

again, i'm still fairly new into belgian ale...but the best i ever had was a Westvleteren...very hard to find and perhaps its best never to try it, because ignorance is bliss...

kick around all six trappists (one is in netherlands) and you'll find the differences.

but you guys said it, its about sippin....And i agree with Puff...there is not better time to drink them than on a cool fall day/night, with a cigar. Fall is absolutely my favorite time of the year. Enjoy the journey...not that you guys need another expensive habbit!!!!!

someday, i'm gonna do a brewery tour in belgium, that would be amazing. the history of these places is amazing, check 'em out.....i don't know how anyone can think there isn't a God, when these monks create such a heavenly beer.

this conversation has inspired me to crack open a Westmalle Dubbel!!! another fav of mine, if you like chimay blue try a Westmalle next (but you haven't lived until you experience the extreme complexity of the Rochefort Ales, 6,8 and 10...go 10!!!!!)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bombardier,

almost forgot, your beer head problem, its because you used a tall glass....Doubles should be pour in a wide mouth, like a goblet.

ya i poured mine into a sleeve. also on the vintage part of it, is there a noticeable flavor difference in years??