homebrewandbeer.com

Hi all,
Had my first Chimay (Grand Reserve) experience last friday night. Been wanting to try it for ages but needed to justify the $17.00 for some kind of celebration. Well the arrival of my home bar seemed a good enough occasion.

What a lovely beer. Flavours were probably a bit strong for me as I generally don't drink the heaviest of beers but still enjoyed every drop. Need another reason to buy another one now!

Anyhow the main reason for boring you all with this is the chimay started a "discussion" with the missus.

Basically, stout, porter or something else???

I think its more of an extra strong ale shame I cant afford more of it.

Antsvb

Today is April 19. What better reason do you need?



Dogger

It's a trappist beer.

This is from http://www.homebrewandbeer.com/beerstyles.html

Trappist beer
In five Trappist abbeys in Belgium (Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle and Westvleteren) and one in the Netherlands (Achel, or La Trappe), monks produce their distinctive style of beer. Beers brewed in monasteries in Austria and Germany generally reflect mainstream beers in those countries. But Trappist beers are different. They all are fairly strong, dry and bottle-conditioned, contain lots of yeast sediment and are fruity and aromatic. The unique yeasts that give a sour, phenolic edge and lots of malts is used. Candy sugar adds flavor, character and alcohol. Chimay is probably the most widely known Trappist beer. The style has been copied the world over, but only those made in the Trappist abbeys can be called Trappist beers. Singles are dominated by malt and are usually found only at the monasteries. OG is 1.050 to 1.095, IBUs are 20 to 45 and alcohol is 5 to 11%. Dubbles are dark amber in color with a full body. They usual have caramelised candy sugar and some hoppy dryness to balance. OG is 1.063 to 1.070, IBUs are 18 to 25 and alcohol is 6 to 7.5%. Tripples are medium gold in color with a dry citric flavor in the finish. They use light candy sugar and the yeast will give a rich phenolic flavor. OG is 1.070 to 1.095, IBUs are 20 to 25 and alcohol is 7 to 10%.

Cheers,

Oliver

Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue) is I believe "King of the Beers". It is neither Dubbel or Tripel but the height of the monks' brewing skill, known to BJCP as "Strong Dark Belgian Ale". Heavenly Beer.

Hey, I was sure that Budweiser was the "King of Beers"

Oliver

Shame on you Oliver

Budweiser maybe king of crap beers

I think this thread is starting to sound familiar

Jay.

Oliver wrote:Hey, I was sure that Budweiser was the "King of Beers"

Only according to their marketing people. Perhaps I should have said Chimay is "Pope of Beers"?

or the Mr T of Beers, perhaps?

Oliver

The Pope is German.

Let them have the King of Beers, keeps them out of mine

By the way, I am not a fan of the Chimay either.

Dogger

Yeah, although I can see that Chimay is unique blah blah blah... I'm not a huge fan.

...then again, I don't vote Liberal and I don't watch Australian Idol. I could be on my own here.

Evo,

Niether do I watch Aus Idol or vote liberal, you are not alone.

Greg

Guys,

for its worth I don't watch Austarlian Idol either nor do I vote Liberal.
Wow, is this contagious?

Dogger

No wonder I feel at home on this board.

...and I thought it was just because I'm a homebrewing computer nerd.

i vote Liberal but I despise Australian Idol (and all "reality" TV, actually). Does this mean that I will like Chimay?

try it and see,

I was impressed with it, just remember not to drink it ice cold

Just got back from Dan Murphy's.
They've upped the price of the Grand Reserve to $20.
Still got year 2003 on the label.

It really is a special occasion beer, had to wait until the birth of my baby daughter to try one...and then it was just the $7 stubbie!