CHIMAY BLUE (aka GRANDE RESERVE) ~ CHIMAY

This dark Belgian treat was sampled from a small 330 mL bottle. Once brewed as Christmas Ale, this is the strongest beer that Chimay makes. At 9% this beer is easily cellared. The beer poured an opaque tawny brown colour, with a finger of cream coloured foam. The head lingered for a while before leaving a decent film and some specks of lacing. The aromas were a melange of chocolate, caramel, sweet malts, spice (clove and nutmeg), Belgian Yeast, dark fruits (plum, raisin, and sweet bread. There is tons of taste in this brew: dark fruit, yeasty and bready notes, caramel, big malts, Christmas spices, chocolate, subtle floral hops, and an earthiness. The booziness leaves a pleasant sense of warmth. The rich beer has a lovely complexity to its well-balanced flavours. The body was medium and the carbonation was soft and fine. This one was quite a little treat!
9% from Chimay, Belgium