12 Beers of Christmas: Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue cap)

Posted at 11:31 am by Patrick under 12 Beers of Christmas

For the next beer in the series, we’re going to southern Belgium for Chimay Grand Reserve.

This wonderful example of a dark strong ale has been brewed by the monks of the Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont for decades. As the Abbaye is one of six working monastery breweries in Belgium (one is actually on the Holland side of the border), the beers it produces earn the right to use the “Trappist” appelation. For the most part, the Trappist beers have beer rare outside of Belgium, but in recent years this has changed dramatically. Since Chimay was among the first to export its beers, it is also the best known and most readily available Trappist beer in America (and now Georgia as well).

Chimay Blue is the prototypical Belgian dark ale. The judicious use of roasted malts and candi sugar create a luscious mouthfeel that carries the beer’s signature flavor components: plums, figs(?), chocolate, raisins, oranges and too many others lurking in the background to distinguish clearly. The balance of maltiness and the alcohol presence cloaks the beer’s strength well. At 9% abv, Chimay Blue should be enjoyed in moderation, or with a designated driver around.

I find this wonderful beer is a great foil to the stinkiest of stinky cheese plates, but works particularly well with cheeses with more earthy flavors in them (English cheddars, stiltons and the like). At about $10/750 ml bottle, or $4/330 ml bottle, this is a beer worth savoring.

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