Beer review: Chimay Dorée (4.8% Belgium: Chimay Brewery)

Chimay Dorée is an ale, more specifically a Belgian style, brewed by Chimay Brewery, a brewery located in the Scourmont Abbey in southern Belgium. It is one of the ten breweries in the world to produce Trappist beer. All of the profits from Chimay products go for the benefit of the monastery and to charity. Considering that it's a monastery brewery, the annual amount of Chimay products being brewed is staggering, 12 million litres reported in 2005. The Chimay Dorée was previously reserved only for the visitors and inhabitants of the monastery, but now it has been released into wider distribution and is also available in the Finnish liquor stores.

Taste: The Chimay Dorée is a medium-bodied beer with a really distinct flavor of several spices and herbs. It starts with a fruity, flowery taste of apple, coriander and orange peel. It then delivers a malted body with surprisingly wheaty feel and finishes with a faint bitterness.

Overall, the Chimay Dorée is a great beer with a distinct taste and great character. It really stands out among Belgian ales and especially among the Chimay selection and is perfect for a warm sunny day. Unfortunately the flowery aromas of the beer remind me of some deodorants and fragrances which ruin the experience slightly, but of course that's not the brewery's fault. Maybe the aromas could've been slightly more potent and it would be interesting to taste a stronger version of the Dorée. In any case, it's really an outstanding beer, quite literally.

82 Great

Beer review: Chimay Triple (8.0% Belgium: Chimay Brewery)

Chimay Triple is a strong ale, more specifically a Tripel, brewed by Chimay Brewery, a brewery located in the Scourmont Abbey in southern Belgium. It is one of the ten breweries in the world to produce Trappist beer. All of the profits from Chimay products go for the benefit of the monastery and to charity. Finally a way to do charity while practising a hobby of mine! Considering that it's a monastery brewery, the annual amount of Chimay products being brewed is staggering, 12 million litres reported in 2005. That has to be a sign of something exceptional, let's find out what it is.

Taste: Chimay Triple is the driest and most hopped of the Chimay products. This is apparent in the taste, which is medium/full-bodied yet quite soft. The taste is dominated by a herbal grassy taste of hop.

Overall, Chimay Triple was a bit of a disappointment for me. Chimay Blue is one of my favorite widely available beers, and therefore maybe I expected too much of the Triple. I have to admit that I am generally quite picky about strong hoppy beers. Chimay Triple offers a nice hoppy, yet soft taste but in my opinion does not stand out in any special way. I'm not saying it's bad, when the beer is a Trappist it's bound to be good but I expected a bit more.

75 Good

Beer review: Chimay Blue (9.0% Belgium: Chimay Brewery)

Chimay Blue is an ale, more specifically a Belgian style strong ale, brewed by Chimay Brewery, a brewery located in the Scourmont Abbey in southern Belgium. It is one of the ten breweries in the world to produce Trappist beer. All of the profits from Chimay products go for the benefit of the monastery and to charity. Finally a way to do charity while practising a hobby of mine! Considering that it's a monastery brewery, the annual amount of Chimay products being brewed is staggering, 12 million litres reported in 2005. That has to be a sign of something exceptional, let's find out what it is.

Taste: Chimay Blue is a very sophisticated and mature beer, with a malt dominant, medium/full-bodied yet soft and smooth taste. The aftertaste of Chimay is pleasant, finishing with a warm, mildly sweet, almost liquorice-ish malty flavor.

Overall, Chimay Blue is worth its reputation and its understandable why it's so popular. It's available in almost all of the alcohol stores in Finland, which is a good thing because it's one of my regular picks. If you haven't tried Chimay Blue yet, do it!

95 Legendary