Category Archives: S.A. Bières de Chimay

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Belgium, S.A. Bières de Chimay

Chimay Grande Réserve Vieillie en Barriques: Châtaignier neuf, Chêne, Cognac 15/03/2016

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Brewery: S.A. Bières de Chimay
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Other Notes: 38% French oak, 22% American oak (second utilization), 22% new cognac barrels & 18% new chestnut

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The “Grande Réserve” barrel aged is an exceptional beer that benefits from triple fermentation and extended maturing in barrels. Unfiltered, unpasteurised, this beer has an incomparable rounded, wooden flavour.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.1
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 15th March 2016, with a best before date of end of 2021. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: A dark amber brown colour, with a thin half finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, and a gently replenishing centre, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light to moderately sweet dark fruit, plum, prunes, raisin, oak, with light toffee notes.
Taste: Sweet dark malt, dark fruit, plum, prunes, caramel, toffee, oak, cognac, light booze, and a touch bitter on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: It’s a nice complex sipper, but my preference is still the base beer, which is just so good. Despite this, the barrel aged variants are still very interesting, and I would love to keep trying more.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Belgium, S.A. Bières de Chimay

Chimay Grande Réserve Vieillie en Barriques 2017 Rum Edition

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Brewery: S.A. Bières de Chimay
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Other Notes: 36% French oak, 42% American oak & 22% Rum

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The “Grande Réserve” barrel aged is an exceptional beer that benefits from triple fermentation and extended maturing in barrels. Unfiltered, unpasteurised, this beer has an incomparable rounded, wooden flavour.

(from website) On the eye, the beer boasts a deep brown robe with a bright glint. Its extremely fine and smooth foam also possesses a slight shade of cream. On the nose, notes of vanilla, marzipan and wood are equally predominant. On the palate, the woodiness cloaks the bread crust, roasting, rum aromas and empyreumatical notes. This edition boasts an excellent blend of the characters of Chimay Blue and Rum. A balance between roundness and power that will be appreciated at best between 6 months and 1 year after its bottling.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 10th August 2017, with a best before date of end of 2022. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass. I always thought of the Chimay Grande Réserve and thus also it’s barrel variants to be a Belgian Quad, but it appears most sites list it as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, so that’s what I’m going to do. Not going to debate this or differentiate the styles as a simple search will show many threads.
Appearance: A slightly hazy dark amber brown colour with a half finger beige head that dissipated quickly to a replenishing ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light to moderately sweet, dark fruit, plum, prunes, oak, coconut, vanilla, with notes of rum.
Taste: Sweet malt, dark fruit, plum, prunes, grapes, fig, raisin, toasted oak, toasted bread, brown sugar, clove, vanilla, rum, light booziness.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice, complex and enjoyable, but not as good as the base beer in my opinion. I think it’s partly because rum is not one of my favoured liquors.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Pale Ale, Belgium, S.A. Bières de Chimay

Chimay Dorée (Gold)

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Brewery: S.A. Bières de Chimay
Country: Belgium
ABV: 4.8%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Other Notes: Trappist beer. Ale is brewed at Scourmont Abbey

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brewed at the heart of Scourmont Abbey, Chimay Dorée, a beer previously reserved for the monastic community, their guest and their colleagues, is now yours to savour, with its refreshing aromas of hops and spices.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before end date of December 2018. Poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: A clear dark golden colour with a one finger white head that had great retention and left nice curtain like lacing.
Aroma: Lemon peel, clove, honey, tea, coriander and floral.
Taste: What you’d expect from the aroma with clove, banana, honey, tea, lemon peel, coriander, biscuit malt and floral.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice and easy to drink. Not as complex as their other regulars, but its not meant to be.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Dubbel, Belgium, S.A. Bières de Chimay

Chimay Première (Red)

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Brewery: S.A. Bières de Chimay
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Dubbel
Other Notes: Trappist beer. Ale is brewed at Scourmont Abbey

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The <> logo certifies that this ale is brewed in a Trappist Abbey and that the majority of sales income is intended for social aid. Chimay Red will win you over with its fruity taste accompanied by a slight bitterness.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.64
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: This was a 330ml bottle that was dated best before end of 2018 and poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: It pours a very hazy brown colour with a very nice thick cream coloured two finger head that dissipates very slowly but when it does, leaves a nice curtain lacing.
Aroma: Aromas are fruity, mainly of dark fruits like plum, cherry, and fig. There is also some pear, apple and candied sugar and a hint of nuttiness.
Taste: Fruity cherry and plum upfront with hints of banana and pear. There’s also some light malt caramel and bready sweetness followed by a nice light bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth creamy and slightly sticky.
Overall: Admittedly, I used to think that this was just ok but I’ve grown to enjoy this beer the more I drink it. When I first tried it maybe ten years ago, Chimay Blue was far and away better and so I mostly bought that. However, clearly my taste changed and the last few years Chimay Red became one of my staple beers.

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chimay premiere (red) 4

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Tripel, Belgium, S.A. Bières de Chimay

Chimay Triple (White)

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Brewery: S.A. Bières de Chimay
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Tripel
Other Notes: Trappist beer. Ale is brewed at Scourmont Abbey

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The <> logo certifies that this ale is brewed in a Trappist Abbey and that the majority of sales income is intended for social aid. Chimay Triple stands out thanks to its flavours of hops and fresh yeast.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.2
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.27

Intro: 330ml bottle dated best before end of 2017 and poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: It poured a hazy copper colour with a two finger cream head that has good retention leaving a thick curtain lacing.
Aroma: Initial aromas of apple, pear and bready malts followed by a sweet banana and honey finish.
Taste: Surprisingly strong alcohol taste, but also sweet candied sugar, banana, bread malts and some light apple and pear flavours.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation and a creamy feel.
Overall: I’m a big fan of Chimay, but this was not one of the better tripel beers. Ultimately I thought that it was too boozy and everything just kind of got lost behind that.

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