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Description:
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. (Description provided by company)
Brewer:
Beer Style:
ABV:
9.00% ABV
Availability Frequency:
year-round
Containers Available:
bottle
Locations Where Available:
nationwide
Store/Serve Temperature:
close to 55 degrees F
Comments
Happily Surpised
Between the cute little bottles, the name (how exactly does one pronounce "Chimay"?), and the fact that it is available at many grocery stores and Costco made me worry about what exactly we are dealing with here. Is this a formerly good beer that is riding the craft beer wave hand-in-hand with the full varieties of Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada? From my sampling, I found a really great beer that I should not have avoided for as long as I did.
I grabbed a bottle of the blue label Chimay at my local liquor store when I thought I could avoid the beer no longer. When I poured the beer into a glass, I discovered a honey-copper brew with a very thick foamy head that slowly shrank and left ample lacing on the glass. My nose picked up a lot of plum and dark fruits along with a yeasty, spicy backbone. Taste is yeast, raisin, and sherry. You can taste the alcohol, but it isn't distracting or annoying, just another aspect to the flavor. Medium bodied and very easy to drink. Excellent!