Chimay Bleue (Blue)

Brewed by Chimay
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Baileux, Belgium

Nice carb structure in this one with great lacing. Spicy, floral notes on the nose. Tasty and goes down really well. This is a port-like beer to savor slowly. When served in the official Chimay glass, I get a metallic taste that is spoiling it for me. From now on, I decide the official "proper" glass!

Pours a nice dark brown with a thick, creamy tan head. Complex, rather heavy flavor includes some fruit and spice notes: raisin, banana, cloves. Sweetish flavor with a rather bitter finish to it. A good beer to savor slowly.

Refrigerated big bottle poured into a tulip. The taste is heavy. It pours a medium hazy brown with some head. The mouthfeel is good and has nice lacing. The taste is sweet malt (mostly caramalized sugar), dried fruit, with a hint of yeasty spice. This is good beer, but not the best I have had of the style.

I did the trifecta of Chimay this evening despite having had all three many times before...first time rating them. Small bottle. Pours a dark and murky copper with largeish head but it diminishes faster than the white or red. Nose is musky with hints of raisin and dough. Taste is out of this world...layered and sophisticated. Slightly sweet and yet evidently bitter. A roasted malt back reveals aspects of dusty roasted chestnuts with fruitcake and yeast. Finish has a hop bite that dances on the tongue. Slightly boozy but not offensive. Despite the youth of this bottle it offers everything I remember this beer for. In other words good young or aged. Top quality and my favorite of the Chimays.

750 ml. bottle. Pours a very dark red-brown with beige / tan head which never quite disappears. Sweet floral aroma, not of hops but of sweet flowers like honeysuckle, delicate and subtle, yeast detectable, honey, dark fruits. More fruits detectable once tasted, plum, raisin, grape, blackberry. Finish is somewhat dry however, with Belgian spices noticeable. Very nice, though I prefer St. Bernardus Abt. 12; chimay is a little overpriced, maybe due to its popularity?

Pours a deep dark brown and somewhat ruddy complexion. The head is a little off-white and doesn’t hang around very long. Rich dark fruits like plums, figs, and raisins come through in the nose. Maybe a touch of caramelized sugar, and molasses coming through as well. Rather rich in the aroma...The fruits are rather strong in the flavor giving a dark fruity aspect to this beer. Very bubbly mouthfeel and a rather light body. The finish is somewhat sweet and complex. Again, maybe a touch of browned sugar in the finish.

Bottle that I’ve had many times. Has this recipe changed? Or is it my palate. Waited on this to warm and had a malty yeasty nose. Some lint carbonation. In this bottle I was surprised by how light it seemed. Flavor opens to some dark fruits and rich malts nicely combined with Belgian yeasts. Finish is smooth with some sweetness.

Tried 3 separate times. Chilled poured from a bottle. Its a medium amber ale with too much carbonation and head that does not last long. Looks good in the glass, though slightly hazy, with the majority of bubbles forming from the bottom. The aroma is very yeasty/doughy with a hint of hops. The taste is relatively mild, slightly malty, and has a spicy / sweet character. I was expecting a more complex Belgian but its eh. Dont really get why this one is so highly rated. Its just not that good IMHO.