BOTW, Week 13: Chimay Red

Walks in to tasting room. Sits down at table, dons white gloves and spectacles. Looks for date on small bottle...not apparent. Even looks on bottom, only notices label indicating bottle should remain upright. Cracks it open with bottle opener shaped like a lady's leg with 'cheers' in 13 languages written on it.

Pfffft.

Decants slowly into a large stemless Reidel red wine glass with just enough agitation to generate 3/4" of coarsely bubbled light tan head. Inhales the aroma with several deep breaths (mouth open!). Review begins...

My Chimay Red is light on the aroma department for a Belgian beer, though there is a very slight appley scent. Hop aroma is basically absent. There is a bit of an alcohol nose.

The color is a light tan head perched atop a deep brown beer that is completely opaque, which seems to promise a rich maltiness.

After a small sip, I feel like the body is lighter than what I remembered from this one, and based on that the maltiness is predictably absent. Surprising given the color. A couple deep sips yield the apple flavors that were expected, and a hint of raisin. Several more sips see the apple flavors wane slightly, and cede themselves to a more pronounced raisin flavor with an earthiness, though not profound.

Bitterness is quite low. There is none up front or in the middle, but asserts itself as more of a slightly bitter aftertaste to this untrained palate.

The head has now diminished to around 1/4", but is quite persistent. The sides of the glass are significantly laced as I continue to sip the beer.

At the halfway point the raisin character is continuing to increase, and the malt seems to be more apparent and palpable. The bitter aftertaste is fading in the finish. Perhaps this is due to the 7% abv this beverage carries.

Nearing the end of my 33cl I can say this is not likely a beer I would purchase again. I feel there are much more interesting options in both the 7% abv range, the Belgian beer range, and even the Trappist Brewery range. Which isn't to say it isn't a reasonable beer, just not what I remembered or was expecting.

Thank you, and good night.

Thanks other members of the panel. Burps, slides chair back, and exits room.

07/05 on the cork... popped like a bottle of brutte on prom night.... lotsa foam.... darker amber type color, lotsa chill haze....

initial sampling....

not worth the ten bucks i plopped down for this bottle... a decemt beer, nice malt and fruity/estery flavor, but little hop aroma, good bitterness, very crisp, reminds me of champaign. lots of carbonation. and a slight metallic finish/after taste...

as beer chills, it gets better in flavor.... can taste the complexity of the yeast. strong abv numbs me a tad

will not buy this again, as i'm certian i can recreate this on my own for half the cost........



edit: bottle was bought off a room temp shelf, not certian about how it was handled... no dust on bottle at purchase, which leads me to believe it's not been sittting for ages on the shelf... still, not pleased overall......

A very thorough review, BeeGee. I agree with your findings and hope to add something useful to the discussion. At first sip I find it drier than expected. Not overtly sweet at all. This fades to hints of fruit, the apples and raisins you mentioned. The finish is dry, slightly tart, with just a hint of bitterness and only a touch of alcohol. Now that I'm nearing the end of the bottle, I find that it is a bit much for one person in one sitting. This one is not meant to be pounded. Share and savor. Not because of the alcohol, but because the flavors are a bit overwhelming. A nice meal to pair it with would probably do the trick, but for me only one glass. Like BeeGee said, not one that I would buy again for myself, but as a compliment to, or after, dinner with guests, I think this beer finds it's strength.
I hope this makes some sense and is useful .

I want to add something useful to the discussion, but I've been drinking pale ale all night and wouldn't be able to taste a whole lot right now. So I will refer to the BJCP. If some of you feel this is a spoiler, telling you what you ought to be tasting, I would reply that it is merely a guide pointing out flavors and aromas to be aware of in this Style. Chimay (red) is indicative of the style, but only one example. And no with out further ado*... the BJCP:

18B. Belgian Dubbel

Aroma: Complex, rich malty sweetness; malt may have hints of
chocolate, caramel and/or toast (but never roasted or burnt aromas).
Moderate fruity esters (usually including raisins and plums, sometimes
also dried cherries). Rarely esters will include banana or apple. Spicy
phenols and higher alcohols are common (may include light clove and
spice, peppery, rose-like and/or perfumy notes). Spicy qualities can be
moderate to very low. Alcohol, if present, is soft and never hot or
solventy. A small number of examples may include a low noble hop
aroma, but hops are usually absent. No diacetyl.

Appearance: Dark amber to copper in color, with an attractive reddish
depth of color. Generally clear. Large, dense, and long-lasting creamy
off-white head.

Flavor: Similar qualities as aroma. Rich, complex medium to
medium-full malty sweetness on the palate yet finishes moderately dry.
Complex malt, ester, alcohol and phenol interplay (raisiny flavors are
common; dried fruit flavors are welcome; clove-like spiciness is
optional). Balance is always toward the malt. Medium-low bitterness
that doesn’t persist into the finish. Low noble hop flavor is optional
and not usually present. No diacetyl. Should not be as malty as a bock
and should not have crystal malt-type sweetness. No spices.

Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium-high carbonation, which can
influence the perception of body. Low alcohol warmth. Smooth, never
hot or solventy.

Overall Impression: A deep reddish, moderately strong, malty,
complex Belgian ale.

History: Originated at monasteries in the Middle Ages, and was
revived in the mid-1800s after the Napoleonic era.

Ingredients: Belgian yeast strains prone to production of higher
alcohols, esters, and phenolics are commonly used. Soft water.
Complex grain bill: Belgian pils or pale base malt, Munich-type malts
for maltiness, Special B for raisin flavors, CaraMunich for dried fruit
flavors, other specialty grains for character. Dark candi sugar for color
and rum-raisin flavors. Noble-type, English-type or Styrian Goldings
hops commonly used. No spices.

Vital Statistics: OG: 1.062 – 1.075
IBUs: 15 – 25 FG: 1.010 – 1.018
SRM: 10 – 14 ABV: 6 – 7.5% (6.5 – 7% is
most typical)

Commercial Examples: Westmalle Dubbel, La Trappe Dubbel,
Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale, Grimbergen Double, Affligem Dubbel,
Chimay Premiere (Red), Duinen Dubbel, St. Feuillien Brune, New
Belgium Abbey Belgian Style Ale, Stoudts Abbey Double Ale


*well, maybe a dancing banana or two, which wouldn't normally be found in the BJCP Guidlines, and should not be taken as an indication of off flavors.

the BJCP Guidelines can be downloaded for free from here:
http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.html

My girlfriend and I tried ours last Friday night.

My review: Pours a creamy, off-white head that lingers. Hazy, deep ruby red color. Lots of carbonation, a very slight hop nose and nothing but malt. I didn't feel the fruity esters were at all strong in our sample. The hops are only apparent in the finish. It has a full mouthfeel, but not as heavy as I remembered. Maybe my palate is just better educated now.

She concurred and adds: "It was very smooth but I do like a more hoppy flavor. Maybe more would over power the creamy smoothness though. Overall, pretty tasty!!" She also remarked that it was pretty well balanced (hops/malt) and I agree.

I also agree with t1master that one could probably do a decent job of brewing this on one's own - it would be interesteing to try that.

Pops open clean. Cork labeled 07/05. Form rises out of bottle after a short rest. Pour into a Belgium tulip glass - loads of rocky foam, very spritzy. Settles quickliy. Malty noise, with some esters - little banana, earthy, musty. Surprisingly nuetral flavor, it has been a long time sense I had this beer, now I know why. Nice malt, light hop balance, definately balanced on the malt side. Beautiful amber/gold color, tawny head.

I enjoyed the beer but agree there are others I am more interested in.

I finally got a chance to drink my Chimay last night. The cork was stamped with 05/05, and I poured SWMBO and myself a glass (we used white wine glasses).

Having read the first few reviews here, I went in kind of looking for apples and raisens. I did not taste raisins (I hate raisins), and I got a very slight aroma of apples, but no taste of them.

Very VERY VERY fizzy. SWMBO hated this part. Too much gas. She felt bloated after 3 or 4 drinks of it. I vented my gas build-up loudly and felt no bloating, but I could see where she was coming from.

There was a taste and smell that (for both of us) dominated the beer, and we were not fans of it. I was trying to place the flavor and made the comment that it kind of tasted like blood.

SWMBO nailed it after that and said, "Copper pennies. This tastes like copper, and smells like your hand does after holding a wad of pennies."

I TOTALLY agree with that.

Bottom line; did NOT like it and will not be buying it again.

-walker

My tasting is in progress:

Visual: Color is a deep, opaque reddish brown, slight chill haze. Very little head.
Aroma: Slight banana/clove/phenolic, I'm also getting some green apple, but light.
Taste: First impression is that my sample is too cold. I'm getting a sweet (but not cloying) malty taste that dominates the beer. Slight alcohol burn. Light bananas and clove. I like it a lot.
As the sample warms more phenolics come into play. It begins to taste even better.

I am going to attempt some type of rating system for these, which certain beers may be subject to change as these tastings progress. I'll use a scale of 1-10, 1 being bad, 10 being great.

This one is 6/10.

Aroma: malt, bananas, and slight alcohol

taste: chewy texture, slightly coying after taste, low bitterness, yeast flavors dominate as expected. After warming a bit i detected some burnt/roasted like caramal notes that adds to the complexity.

Overall impression: A bit over carbonated, not bitter enough for my taste but a very decent beer. a tad sweet for me, but paired with some good cheese this beer would be more drinkable.

i rate it a 6 out of 10.

I'm not so keen on trappist ales. Taste a little solventy to me.

Sometimes I'm a sucker for packaging though. I bought a dubbel last week in an off-license in a clay bottle with a champagne cork, LaTrappe I think it was called. It was so middle of the road though. My girlfriend told me she wanted to keep the bottle as a candle holder - I told her that I wanted to culture the yeast from it. Never goes down well.

Aroma: fruity, clean sort of crisp aroma, dry smelling similar to a champagne or tripple. As it warms I get more of a clovey- malty- raisiny thing coming off of it

Flavor: some dried fruitiness in the flavor. quite rich and malty. coats the tounge. medium body. finishes with a carbonated tingle. No noticable hops. bitterness seems to be from the carbonation.

Overall: medium belgian beer. not too extreme in any one direction. maybe a second step for introducing perople to Belgians after Hoegarten.

Oh man...I'm sampling a Chimay White right now.....this stuff is NICE.

I'm a Chimay white virgin.

You can tell it is really hot...high in alcohol but it is SO smooth. Less of that banana aroma/taste, and more like a nice, perfect balanced ale.

I think I'm in love.