Chimay 175 (yellow)
Bières de Chimay

 

Draft pour, sparkly gold with medium haze and a tight, bleached head

Very pleasant fruit esters on the nose along with some mild yeast spice

Very delicate tee complex flavor profile. Sparkling fruit mixes with champagney yeast and mild modes of white pepper with a pils-y yeast finish

It’s one of those beers where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Strong nutty flavor. Malt. Seems to have more body and alcohol than it has. It’s big. But yet I finished the whole bottle and wanted more.

750 ml corked & caged bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 6.5%. Slightly hazy golden colour, huge white head. Aroma of malts, white kandij sugar syrup, "spicy" Belgian ale yeast and stewed yellow plums. Flavour with the same elements, also citrus and moderate bittering hops. Good beer.

 

Large corked bottle. I shared this one with my wife on a special occasion. The beer is a honey gold color with a touch of yeast cloudiness and a massive white head. The head has some depth and intricate stability. Light pepper and phenolic spice note in the aroma. Some yeast and a pale malt sweetness as well. The taste is dryer than expected (I'd call it maybe semi-dry) from the smell, with a really pleasant Belgian yeast and spiciness that comes in underneath. Flavorful and lingering finish. Wonderful.

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled in 2025. Pours lightly hazy/cloudy golden yellow color with a 2 finger foamy and fluffy white head with solid retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big pear, red apple, white grape, lemon, coriander, cedar, clove, peppercorn, cracker, white bread, herbal, floral, grass, yeast earthiness, and light banana/bubblegum. Medium herbal/woody bitterness and peppery yeast spiciness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; balanced bready/grainy malts, and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light hop resins and lingering dryness with no hop astringency. Fairly crisp finishing on carbonation. Very smooth, mild warmth of 6.5%. Classic Chimay house yeast, pretty much the same taste as Cinq Cents in yeast ester profile. Delicious. I'll be getting some Chimay more often soon.

Bières de Chimay "Chimay 175 (yellow)"
25.4 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, corked & caged
$16.99 @ Wegmans, King of Prussia, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's poured a hazy golden body beneath a massive head of fluffy foam that eventually settles to two finger's worth, and then a thumb's width of rocky white foam. The aroma is spicy with some phenolic spiciness from the yeast, some green cardamom, and distant citrus over a sweetish malt that's honeyish. The taste reveals a far more complex flavor. It's sweetish but not too sweet, and the house yeast is clear. The malt appears to be Pilsner malt with it's grainy and grassy character, and there might be a little bit of some other malt thrown in, or even just candi sugar - or perhaps it's simply gathered some greater depth through the brewing process, a decoction mash or whatever. It at first reminded me of the Tripel but that's just because of the house yeast as this is not nearly as dry and spicy, and seems to have different spices added. I'm getting notes of vanilla, honey, woody coriander, green cardamom, star anise, orange, a little bit of lemon, banana, and apple. In some ways it tastes like a beer I've recently sampled which was a hefeweizen with Chai added (leaving out the cinnamon in this case). It doesn't seem bitter up front but the bitterness does come out in the finish. It's not bold though, but soft, which works well because the spiciness also helps to dry it in the finish. Some mild maltiness lingers along with the dull bitterness, as well as coriander and cardamom. In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently effervescent, then smooth once it's warmed in the mouth. Fantastic!
Review #9,500

Pours a pillowy frothy rocky 2 finger head with moderate retention, fair lacing, semi hazy blonde color

Nose big rich Belgian blonde malts, grainy, doughy, vanilla blondie brownie, mild candi sugar like, light sweet winter like spices, marshmallow like as well, citrus, unripe orange like,

Taste brings semi sweet Belgian blonde malts, a bit of a cereal grain, vanilla blondie sugar cookie, light winter ale spices again, a bit of citrus, dried orange and apricot fruit a bit sangria like, a bit of bitterness, sweet candi sugar, biscuit cookie, mild sweet semi dry finish, a bit champagne like character,

Mouth is med to a bit fuller bod, higher effervescent carb

Overall pretty good, lots of character and bright without getting too heavy

 

 

 

 

Slightly cloudy golden color. Nice thick white head. Nose is bready, wheat like. Taste is like nose bready and wheat like. Fairly dry beer with very little residual sweetness.

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a hazy, medium brownish orange with a fine, one finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of Belgian yeast, apple and pear, light mixed citrus, clove; spicy. Flavor is Belgian yeast, apple, pear, lemon, clove, coriander and light grassy hops. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess that nevertheless has sharp carbonation. A marvelous Belgian blonde with classic yeast and spicing. Fruit is mostly pommous, but also hints of citrus. I think I taste light hop bitterness, but it could be the Belgian spicing; this is a nicely spiced one. The mouth feel somehow was full and creamy, yet had active prickly carbonation, really an unusual but pleasant combination. I liked this a lot and reminds me that I need to have a Chimay Blue again soon, although this says it's limited, so I probably should revisit it again too. One of those win/win decisions. This is one of my favorite breweries and this gem is an example why it is.

 

 

750ml bottle - $16.99 ay Lucky's Beverage World in Woodstock, Georgia.

Appearance: Pale golden-orange body, lightly cloudy with a spumelike, airy, white head. Exhibits great lacing on the way down.

Smell: Wheaty, bready maltiness, scantly sweet-scented. Spicy phenols, a tad perfumy with touches of citrus, pomme fruit.

Taste: Again, wheat malt with a bready quality and twinge of honey. Citrus blossom, a little apple and pear. Teensy hint of vanilla. Dogged layered spiciness aided by a bit of bitterness and inherent vibrant carbonation. Lightly drying, spicy, creamy-yet-sudsy finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation. Lightly creamy mouthfeel.

Overall: A delight.

Smoooth gorgeous beer