Beer Review: Chimay — Grand Reserve, Premiere, and the Tripel. God Bless Those Monks!

What is the best beer in the world? Without a doubt, I have to go with Chimay. I do not care what variety I get either with this beer (they have 3 different flavors) as they are all awesome. The beer is brewed in Belgium by actual monks in a monastery in the countryside. They are entitlled as Trappist Monks and their monastery is called Scourmont Abby. They brew and sell the beer Chimay to support and run their monastery and do not gain much financial gains from the sale of their beers other than the costs of the abby itself. Any additional profits goes to local charities along with some community projects. The beer is bottle-conditioned which is basically that yeast is added to the beer upon bottling which continues the fermenting process. This fermenting process can continue up to five years with their Grand Reserve variety but generally will last only 2-3 years with the other two kinds.

No matter what variety of Chimay you select, you will have to get a wide mouth goblet glass to drink this beer. It has a very fruity aroma and leaves a great aftertaste. Chimay actually makes their own glasses that you can buy online for their beers. You do not want to use a classic beer mug or a regular glass as the texture and head of the beer need lots of open air. This is why a goblet is the best choice. You will have to pour this beer very slowly on an angle to enrich the flavor and texture of the beer. You do want to have a nice layer of head on top of the glass as this opens up the flavors in the beer.

Chimay brews three different varieties of their beers which can be distinguished by the colors they use on their bottles along with each having a different name. They all are unique in taste and they all have different alcohol contents. Each one is bottle conditioned and comes mostly in large 25 ounce bottles that have corks for caps. They do have a smaller 11 ounce bottle that are capped but these are not as common as the larger versions and are hard to find. Now for the three different varieties of Chimay:

1.) Chimay Red or Premiere. This can be called their regular version and is found in a red labeled bottle. It has generally a brown color to it and has a very fruity aftertaste. Out of the three varieties, this one is the cheapest and has roughly 7% alcohol content when bottled.

2.) Chimay White or Tripel. This can be called their driest beer and is very crisp while drinking. It is a light orange or red in color. It has the name “Cinq Cents” written on the bottle with a white label. This one is in the middle with pricing out of the three and it has roughly 8% alcohol content when bottled.

3.) Chimay Blue or Grand Reserve. This is the most popular of the three beers by Chimay. It is dark brown in color and has the same fruity taste of the other beers but this one also has a slight bitter aftertaste that is surprisingly refreshing. This variety can be found in dark blue labeled bottles and is the most expensive out of the three. It is roughly 9% in alcohol content when bottled.

One thing to remember about all three varieties of Chimay is that they will get slightly stronger as they age in their bottles. This is especially true with the blue Grand Reserve variety as this one will continue to ferment for up to five years. All three of these beers go great with basically any kind of cheese and are often served after meals rather than during. This is not to say that the beers do not go good with food but they do have a tendency to make you feel full so they are usually served afterwards.

As for pricing, Chimay is one of the more expensive beers out there. You can generally expect to spend anywhere from $8 to $12 in a typical bar for a 25 ounce bottle of any of the varieties but the pricing will usually follow in this order: red being the cheapest, then the white with the most expensive being the Blue or Grand Reserve variety. Although almost impossible to find, if you would come across the 11 ounce bottles, these will usually sell for around $5-$6 per bottle for any of the varieties. As for cases, most Chimay comes in 25 ounce bottles with 12 bottles in each case. The Red variety will usually costs around $75, the White around $80 and the Blue around $90 per case. The smaller 11 ounce bottles generally sell for $10 less than the larger 25 ounce ones for each variety but come in 24 bottle cases. Although extremely rare, Chimay also makes 52 ounce bottles for their Blue or Grand Reserve variety which come in cases of 6 with pricing around $110 a case.
All of the information above is just a general overview of the different varieties of Chimay but if you are interested in more information, visit their website at www.chimay.be. So, in conclusion the next time you are out in a nice bar or restaurant and you see Chimay on the menu, give it a try. I’m sure your pallette will appreciate it and you will not be disappointed.