Chimay Première

I know I pretty much say "I'm excited" for every beer I review, but I mean it this time. My first true Trappist, brewed in the walls of an existing trappist monastery where beers have been brewed for hundreds of years. Each new beer coming out of these monasteries end up taking the characteristics of those brewed before it.

Appearance: The Chimay greets the glass with a dark reddish brown color, along with extremely well laced and long lasting head about 2 fingers deep

Smell: Lightly spiced hops with bits of fruit are the main character of the smell, almost a hint of apple, specks of light sweet malts in the background

Taste: The apple and fruity hops take center stage as the spiciness I smelled adds just a touch to it, but don't dominate, which creates a great taste, the hops don't stick around for long as the malts create this wonderful aftertaste on the finish, a combination of sweet and almost toasty chocolate, very complex flavor that bring your tastebuds for a ride

Mouthfeel: Short version - Awesome. Tolstoy - a perfect combination of carbonation to tickle the roof of your mouth, but a smooth finish, a little bite just to let you know that yes, this is a strong Belgian, but like the hops the bitterness is gone in a flash

Drinkability: I enjoy the Belgians so this is truly heaven. I could drink this alll night, and thanks to a not so earth-shattering 7.0% abv, I can. Every sip you take you will notice something different you didn't catch the previous time. I would absolutely recommend this to Belgian lovers and even non-Belgian lovers, give this a shot. I give it a 9.5/10 and it has passed Duvel as my favorite.

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Duvel Snifter