If you have been following us for a while you would know we absolutely love our authentic Trappist beer, and Chimay are certainly one of the first breweries that pop into our heads when asked about these history-rich beers.
Poured from their short and stocky 330ml bottle into a tulip glass. The deep chestnut brown pour arouses a frothy two finger beige crown that reduces to a well retained 5mm cap. Much to our surprise there was hardly any lacing being omitted. The aroma offers musty and dank earthy characters with that distinct Belgian yeast character. Strong wafts of clove, banana lolly, pear, vanilla, toffee, fig, raisin, sour dough and alcohol all come forward. Although the aromas between these strong Belgian beers don’t vary a whole lot it’s still difficult not to love the moreish complexity they all possess. In the mouth it has a rich, creamy texture with medium-high carbonation. Full bodied. A rather astringent burn from the ABV (9%) upfront is softened by syrupy layers of caramel, prune and canned pears. A kind of chipotle-style spice pops up but disappears as dark fruits continue on through the mid-palate delivering a rich, warming finish with lingering notes of plum, fig and honey which seem to bunker down on the back end, displaying really good length. So much flavour! But like most of the Trappist beers, the near-cloying sweetness is the one facet that always limits us to only one per session. We can’t help but think about how perfectly this would go down with a rich dessert. The ABV is again present but not overpowering, pretty damn good considering the level. Again, the Trappist beer does the job. Delicious!