Chimay Blue = Grande Reserve??

It's the 2012 vintage. We have it on shelf but I don't have a camera with me. It had a red shield painted on the bottle. Retail is $4 more.

 

There was whatever the 2012 release was at a higher price. That is a different beer from the regular blue/GR. The 375ml and 750ml traditional blue labels are the same damn beer.

Had a 3L of Chimay Blue from 2010 on NYE. It was fucking awesome.

 

none of the 33cl (11.2oz) bottles list their name on the label, presumably due to space constraints, but they are the same beers

 

its a bit confusing because in 2012 they released a limited bottling of grande reserve with a retro bottle, but same beer inside, and right around the same time they released a new beer, Chimay Cent Cinquante, a 10% Belgian Strong Pale, which was a one-off for their 150th anniversary.

 

This should help, from their website
http://www.chimay.com/en/chimay-bleue.html?IDC=287&IDD=130

And the 2012 release with a different label was the 150th commeration label, which had the original Chimay, logo which has since changed.
That also was the "blue cap" beer..as they refer to their beers in cap colors(ie red white blue) i have also heard of a beer the monks exclusively brew for themselves called a patersbier which is not widely distributed, however 20 brewpubs were chosen by the monastary to sell the "Rouge beer" which is brewed with the same ingredients as the red cap, yet paler at around 4.8%. British company Fuller's has been known to be one of the 20 chosen to serve this beer on drought..cheers! Beerswag

 

they should just, ya know, put the name of the beer on the label so you know what it is.

 

Well you replied to the wrong question (OP was talking about the difference between a 330 ml Blue Label and a 750 ml of Blue Label) and subsequently answered that question incorrectly.

 

From what I understand, and I can't find the documentation on this. They made a change to a stainless cylindrical fermenter ( I'm probably using the wrong term) this supposedly cut the fermintation time in half but really changed the flavor profile.

I haven't bought Chimay in a while, to me Rochefort 10 is in another league and I like ABT 12 quite a bit better as well.

 

haven't had it in awhile. never tasted different to me, from first getting into it in, what, 04? 05? i think the last time i had it was when i reviewed it in 2010, maybe once or twice since.

p.s. i've always felt it stands with abt12 and rochefort 10.

 

The Blue I can say definitely tastes different. I noticed this when I split a bottle with friend a couple of weeks ago. It's a lot lighter in color too than it used to be. Quite frankly, it's easier to drink for the masses...it lacks that typical Belgian strong flavor profile.

 

Agreed with above. It doesn't taste quite as good as it once did. I hadn't had it in years and bought a bottle to share with friends a year or so ago. I was almost embarrassed. It was definitely different.

 

I prefer Chimay Red over White and Blue.

 

The blue is the best of the three.....still to open this.

 

why wait? It's not like you can't get another one at almost any corner market.

 

True but this bottle is 16 years old, maybe I'll open it soon, maybe I'll let it hit 20.

 

well in that case.... I take it back! That's amazing.

 

Call it "Chimay Blue Label" on the menu. "Grande" is "big" and and IMO, same beer/bier in a bigger bottle. IMO, this article puts things in perspective:

http://belgianbeerjournal.wordpress...ews/review-on-chimay-grande-reserve-blue-cap/

 

I prefer Chimay White over Blue and Red