Chimay Grande Reserve Ale

This is a pilot review and I have decided to write about a very well known and very good Belgian... Chimay Grande Reserve Ale. This Dark strong ale comes in at 9% ABV. A dark reddish brown color with a thin head. This beer is flavorful yet not over the top. If you had no preconceptions about the strength of the beer itself you would not think it was strong. Many heavier ales with high alcohols tend to exhibit their strength in the taste. Grande Reserve is not at all like this. It is smooth and easy to drink. There is a dried fruit character and it is not sweet or real heavy. The body feels medium and it is relatively dry yet aromatic. This bottle (750 ml) in particular had slightly less flavor that others I have tasted. Overall it is one of the best Dark Belgians one can spend about $12 (bevmo) on and not feel guilty about the expenditure. After the bottle was finished... needless to say so was I. Even though you can't taste the alcohol, believe me it's there!!!

Brewed by:

Bières de Chimay (Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont)

ABV: 9%

Note: The glass I poured into as you can see is not the traditional Chimay goblet, it is the Samuel Adams Boston Lager perfect pour glass. Somewhat of a novelty, yet the construction of this glass is very similar to the Belgian tulip style glass. In all honesty I do not own a Chimay goblet... this glass was the best I had and worked just fine.

In the future I plan on doing a linear tasting of different beers I have become fond of using a regular 16 oz. pint glass and the Samuel Adams glass to determine if it exhibits any taste benefits...