Chimay Bleue

About the beer

Source: Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Scourmont, Forges-les-Chimay, Halnaut, Belgium

Strength: 9% ABV

Style: Trappist Beer
Explanation of a Trappist beer from the Chimay website (www.chimay.com) goes like this:

Chimay is an authentic Trappist beer. That means that it is brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery under the control and responsibility of the community of monks, and whose revenue is devoted to social service.

The “Authentic Trappist Product" logo is granted by the International Trappist Association.

Colour: dark copper

Some more features highlighted by its own brewery:

The Chimay Blue Cap, "baptized'
"Grande Reserve" in 750 ml bottles is a dark Trappist beer with a powerful aroma, the complex flavour of which improves across the years. It was first brewed as a Christmas beer, explaining the presence of a "vintage".

This authentic Belgian beer, whose tinge of fresh yeast is associated with a light rosy flowery touch, is particularly pleasant. Its aroma, perceived as one enjoys it, only accents the delightful sensations revealed by the odour, all revealing a light but agreeable caramelized note. 

It is served ideally at cellar temperature (10 to 12°C).

• Taste : Relatively dry with caramel note
• Type of foa : Thick, creamy brown
• Alcohol content : 9% alcohol by volume
• Shelf life : may be kept several years

Tasting at The United

           330ml bottle

Rating (out of 10): 9

Notes: One of the numerous reasons I like beer so much is its variety, and this Chimay Bleue is a crystal-clear statement demonstrating this very nature of beer.

For people who may not be very familiar with beer: 1. wine and beer are completely different thing, with (so advertised that) wine referring something more elegant and refined and beer much rougher; 2. simple no association between a brewery and a abbey.

For me, or any of you who have tried a bottle of Chimay Bleue, the above two impressions would probably be swept away.  For the second one, it is clear when you read its website that the abbey fully owns its brewery.  Of course for a reason.  I could easily guess that monks simply love drinking beer.  Okay, more seriously, there were some occasions that abbeys need to raise money (for renovation of buildings, or others) and for this case of Chimay, the story goes like this:

(as told by Roger Protz in its wonderful book "300 beers to try before you die!")

"In 1850, 17 monks at the Westvleteren abbey were given permission by their abbot to leave the community and build a new one on land donated by the Prince of Chimay.  The monastry was built 10 miles from the villages of Forges-les-Chimay in the Ardennes.  Building work was completed in 1864, but a small brewery had been constructed two years earlier to provide sustenance for the monks and raise funds.  The importance of brewing to the monks were underscored by the fact that abbey and brewery were built on the site of a well that provided copious amounts of pure water."

"German troops occupied the abbey and its brewery during World War Two, and vital brewing equipment was removed for the Nazi war effort.  After the war, the monks sold their beers more vigorously to help pay for rebuilding work."

It's fascinating tale, isn't it?  Read some stories behind while you are drinking your glass of beer.  Isn't just much much more interesting?

Before saying about the taste, I just want to point out the time I took to drink that glass of beer: 2.5 hours.

That is not normal, I know.  But the point I want to raise is that different type of beer does require you to spend different duration of time.  Such a strong (in alcohol and taste) beer deserves more time and patience.  Another good thing about Chimay Bleue is that it needs not to be cold, especially in the winter days.  I opened the bottle at 6pm and think it will be fine before the dinner.  I was wrong after my first sippings (you should eat something before drinking it).  So I had a quarter of a glass, then keep it at the lower compartment of the freezer.  And took it out when I start eating at 7.15pm.  It tastes just like wine in your meal because of its enormous vinous fruitiness. Took it slowly, and it lasted even after I finished my dinner and went very well all along.

Chimay Bleue is very rich, smooth, strong impact on your palate but very nice and a bit spicy aftertaste.  Its enormous vinous note will impress you.  Who said that beer could not be elegant?