Feature Beer Friday! - Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue Label)

For the fifth installment of Feature Beer Friday it's time to head back across the pond to Europe, and try our first Belgian Trappist ale of the series, the Chimay Grande Reserve, popularly known as Chimay Blue.  Chimay is one of the seven (wait, make that eight!) licensed Trappist breweries, and is also the most readily available of them all.  Chimay beers can be found in just about any Baton Rouge area liquor store or grocery store with a good beer selection.  For that reason, it's the perfect beer to spotlight on this week's Feature Beer Friday!

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), James Lawson (Whiskeybomb.com), and Jeremy Spikes (Whiskeybomb.com).

Serving: 750 ml bottle.

Appearance: "Caramel color, nice head retention." Jay commented, and all scores were 12/15 or better for this brew, putting it solidly in the upper range on appearance.

Aroma: The aroma on this one could have been better, but it did open up as the beer warmed.  We didn't drink it ice cold by any means, but a beer like this needs to be around 50 degrees to be properly enjoyed.

Taste:  We all enjoyed the taste of this one, with one comment being, "way better than the aroma, dark fruits and sweet malts."  All scores here were 30+ out of 40, a sure sign of a good beer.

Mouthfeel: "Creamy, smooth, easy to drink despite the 9%" and another round of upper 25% scores for this one.

Overall: Everyone predictably enjoyed the Chimay Blue but I do think it fell a little short of the world class rankings it has one some sites.  This one warms up well and with it's global reach it's a no-brainer whenever you're staring at an aisle of beer and don't know what to reach for.

Overall Rating:80

My Rating:81