Mass Live Chimay Blue Tasting

Discussion in 'The Bar' started by Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013.

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  1. BILF

    BILF Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2010 Israel

    All of the above and post tasting notes. Seriously. Do you have those?
     
    #81 BILF, Mar 24, 2013
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  2. BILF

    BILF Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2010 Israel

    Yeah. For me Chimay Blue sits somewhere between a dubbel and a quad.
     
    #82 BILF, Mar 24, 2013
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  3. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Good call. And I think that might have something to do with my negativity with the cylindro-conical fermenters. Chimay Blue isn't as concentrated as it once was but its lightness since does not mean its any less complex. The development in the glass to my left is not unlike a fine Burgundy. Seemingly limp and one dimensional at first, it repays and repays the patient drinker over a prolonged period of time.
    And I'm getting a nice light sappiness coming through too now that the fizziness is gone.
     
    #83 Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013
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  4. BILF

    BILF Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2010 Israel

    Yep. At the end I got a woody taste and pine sap/gum.
     
    #84 BILF, Mar 24, 2013
  5. BILF

    BILF Initiate (0) Jan 9, 2010 Israel

    Thanks Zimbo it was fun and informative. Will be in on the next tasting if you decide do one and I can find the beer here. My Wee Heavy is a wee bit heavy so I'm signing out.
     
    #85 BILF, Mar 24, 2013
  6. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Cheers. Thanks for coming. I'm gonna hang for a while and see how this continues to unfold in the glass. Hopefully some other people will come provided my brutal time keeping didn't screw too many people up. Glad I did this. Had no idea I would have enjoyed the Blue so much.
     
    #86 Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013
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  7. TheBigEast

    TheBigEast Initiate (0) Oct 21, 2004 New York

    I do. Plan to drink the new 2012 edition. Going to stick with my plan to drink the 1986 when I get together with a close friend from college. I'll post notes then. Picked it up at the Kulminator in Antwerp on my honeymoon back in 1997. Picked up the 2000 Magnum in NYC at a run of the mill store in Grand Central Station - still cannot believe it was there. Waiting until later tonight to have the 2012. Cheers!
     
    #87 TheBigEast, Mar 24, 2013
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  8. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    There's still beer in my glass& it's pretty sweet .
     
    #88 Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013
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  9. kingofhop

    kingofhop Initiate (0) May 9, 2010 Oklahoma
    In Memoriam

    As usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short. However, the Chimay Blue in my 4 oz brandy snifter is superb, as usual. I am reminded of plums. Yes, plums. That sweet and bitter fruit.

    Carry on.
     
    #89 kingofhop, Mar 24, 2013
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  10. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Finally, after about 2 and a half hours in the glass my Chimay Blue is starting to really fade. And there's no head at all anymore. But with such a tasting memory still fresh and etched in my brain I think I'll open a two and half year old Westvleteren 12 as a point of comparison.
     
    #90 Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013
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  11. kingofhop

    kingofhop Initiate (0) May 9, 2010 Oklahoma
    In Memoriam

    Chimay Blue head does fade quickly. Taste remains, tho. Never had Westy, would like to try.
     
    #91 kingofhop, Mar 24, 2013
  12. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    The 12's cap date is 15.10.13

    Very medicinal nose in the bottle. Almost furry. Definitely more animal than Chimay Blue. Pretty concentrated aroma too. Using a proper fill sized 'Trappist Westvleteren glass.
     
    #92 Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013
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  13. kingofhop

    kingofhop Initiate (0) May 9, 2010 Oklahoma
    In Memoriam

    Westy is, or has been at least, rated #1 in the whole entire global world universe. Is it really all that, Zimbo?
     
    #93 kingofhop, Mar 24, 2013
  14. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    In the glass the 2 and half year old 12 gives very little head but gorgeous aromas of toffee, soft milk chocolate, truffle and yes, prune. Buttery end too with hardly a trace of carbonation & amazingly the whole thing holds together very well. Its also has a cleaner more oaky brown sparkle.
     
    #94 Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013
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  15. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    At two years I'd say there's definitely a case to be made. At one year its too raw for me. Right now I'll have to see what time does to this 2 and half year old one. But I'm sort of concerned that it doesn't have the structure to last the way the Chimay Blue did tonight.
     
    #95 Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013
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  16. kingofhop

    kingofhop Initiate (0) May 9, 2010 Oklahoma
    In Memoriam

    Them Belgium folks can shore make good beer. Well, there is Stella.......
     
    #96 kingofhop, Mar 24, 2013
  17. Zimbo

    Zimbo Pooh-Bah (2,305) Aug 7, 2010 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Ol' 'Wife Beater' (Stella) is loved by some but not by me.

    At the this stage what the 12 has gained in body and mouth feel it has not made up in complexity compared to Chimay Blue. I'm shocked to be saying that actually. Time will tell. Still a great nose though. The Chimay Blue, despite some still in the glass, is done.
     
    #97 Zimbo, Mar 24, 2013
  18. kingofhop

    kingofhop Initiate (0) May 9, 2010 Oklahoma
    In Memoriam

    I'm an AAL defender, and also like Euro Pale Lagers. Could get my BA card revoked permanently for saying so. Stella Artois is not at all a favorite of mine. I think it's terrible. And I like that style of beer.
     
    #98 kingofhop, Mar 24, 2013
  19. duchessedubourg

    duchessedubourg Savant (1,181) Nov 2, 2007 Vermont

    I just got home from a cheese-tasting event, and ended going to see "Life of Pi" after - a little late. Am about to crack mine and catch up - hang in there!
     
    #99 duchessedubourg, Mar 25, 2013
  20. duchessedubourg

    duchessedubourg Savant (1,181) Nov 2, 2007 Vermont

    [Just wrote the whole thing as an edit and it timed me out - starting over!!]
    Didn't read anything before I tasted to avoid tainting my perceptions. Opened very calmly with no gushing. Appearance: Rich deep auburn, nice fluffy head. Nose: Rather fusel, and lots of fruity esters. Taste: very malty, many layer of flavors that appear over each sip. Flavors of dark fruit and more bitterness than I expected. Finish: dry from the candi-sugar, with some sherry notes. Oxidized? (Not sure of the age of this bottle.) Wish I had a stinky cheese to go with it, but all cheesed-out from my tasting at 4pm where I mostly drank ciders. The fruity esters remind my why I fell in love with Belgian styles from the get go - the yeast does some great things, and all that malt gets balanced out with the candi-sugar in the trappist styles. Sort of vinous, and finishes dry.
     
    #100 duchessedubourg, Mar 25, 2013
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