Beer Review: Chimay Blue

I am writing this beer review from Barcelona, the most amazing city I've ever been to, but not particularly known for their craft beer scene. Perhaps an article will be coming soon about why that might be... but I digress. Chimay Blue; I have never tried a Trappist ale until now and I must say, with all the hype surrounding them, it better be good! Let's see if it was...

I drank this at my dorm in Barcelona with no real beer glassware to speak of so instead of the tulip that I would have poured it in back home, this beer gets the generic IKEA glass treatment! Even with the 12oz
tumbler, the head forms nicely though it doesn't stick around for very long. The deep amber hue of the beer is par for the course in terms of a Belgian strong dark ale (which is what this beer is). All in all definitely a great looking beer in keeping with what I've experienced with Belgian ales thus far.

The first whiff of this beer gave me a glimpse as to what this aforementioned hype was all about; intense bready aroma dominates here though you can smell a bit of fruitiness.

To put the taste in context, I have had a Belgian strong dark ale before (see my review of Unibroue's Maudite) but this is the real stuff; straight from Belgium. The first sip reveals a taste profile much like the smell; heavy bready malt taste and a jumbled dark fruit taste. The fruitiness reminds me a little like cranberry-grape juice but I can't be sure. Either way its pleasant but not exactly what I was expecting. Later sips reveal some bite to the fruit flavors, a little spiciness due to cloves maybe? No abrasive, jarring tastes here (still very flavorful).

This beer is smooth. Like Sean P-Diddy Combs smooth. Very easily to drink at 9% abv (which is unnoticeable by the way) and the carbonation is perfect.

I got a single 330ml bottle of this (hooray for the metric system!) for 2 euros (roundabout $2.68 with current conversion rates) which is quite a bit cheaper than a single back in the states. Would I get it again? Absolutely, worth every euro cent. Lots of bars here in Barcelona have bottles in stock for reasonable prices and the same can be said for respectable joints in the states which makes it an easy choice for a sipper when you're in the mood for something smooooth.

Score: A-  4.0/5