Chimay Grande Reserve

The last of the available Chimay beers available to me. It comes in a 750mL corked brown bottle, just like the Cinq Cents. But unlike the Cinq Cents, this beer has a blue label. It has 9% alcohol/vol. From what I've heard, this beer should be more along the lines of the kind of beer I like. It's widely known as a "Christmas beer".

It took a bit of effort, but I eventually managed to get the cork off. When opened, I smelled chocolate. I suppose they used chocolate malt? The beer poured an opaque brown, with lots of small bubbles. The chocolate aroma had completely disappeared, and all I could smell was malt. No hoppy aroma at all.

The first sip stung a bit. There is definitely some warmth from the alcohol, and the feel in the mouth was a bit sharp from the carbonation. There was almost no aftertaste. The beer had a very malty flavour to it, almost like caramel. This beer reminded me a lot of Gulden Draak, except slightly less sweet. I was right that this beer would be more along my tastes, and I will definitely buy this beer again given the opportunity.