Back To Back Belgian Beers: Stella Artois And Chimay Grande Reserve

A Nice Night For Beer

It was  a very nice night in Atlanta.  The temperature was warm but the humidity was in check and our mosquito zapper was working well.  I had been planning on reviewing my bottle of Chimay Grande Reserve, aka Chimay Blue, but as a result of some friends stopping by the night before I also had a Stella Artois left over in the fridge.  My buddy who left the beer is a great guy and former (very) special forces member in Vietnam.  The only problem with him is that he likes pale macro lagers, with Stella being his favorite.  I keep telling him that he needs to “man up” and drink real beer but he just ignores me, which I guess is good because if I really got him mad he could probably kill me 50 ways from Sunday without me even knowing it   So, I decided to visit two ends of the Belgian beer spectrum by reviewing both beers back-to-back with Stella being the first while I was warming up the Big Green Egg to cook some steak to have with the Chimay:

If you are going to drink a “mega-lager” Stella Artois isn’t a bad choice.  It’s an average beer overall but much better than average when compared to many of the other mass-market lagers.  It has a bit of flavor and aroma but not much more than that.  I looks pretty good when poured into a pilsner glass with a bright white head that actually stays around for a little while.  The color is very pale yellow and carbonation is OK.  The aroma is decent (grain and malt with a touch of sweetness).  I got a little pineapple in the smell.  The flavor is OK for what there is.  It’s light bodied with a slight taste of malt and fruit and a hint of bitterness.  Nothing is offensive about this at all.  I didn’t really get any of the “skunkiness” that many other people have reported.  Maybe my buddy got some very new beer that had been handled properly.  Served cold this is a very drinkable beer.  As it warms up it falls apart very quickly though.

Here’s the score:

1.  Appearance- 5 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 3 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 5 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 8 points (out of 10)

Total 21 (out of 50) Points -3 Mugs

On To The Abbey

After I finished the Stella I cooked up a nice rib eye steak on the Big Green Egg along with some garlic butter french bread toast and a salad.  I sat down to eat and had my Chimay Grande Reserve:

Appearance: The beer pours a dark caramel that is opaque with lots of fine carbonation and an off white head. Lacing is very good.

Smell: The smell was a bit lighter than I expected.  Lots of dark fruit (fig, raisin, plum)and spice greeted my nose.  It was semi-sweet.

Taste: The taste was very much like the smell. A lot of biscuit and bread and malt combine with the dark fruit and spice.  This is a medium bodied beer.  Carbonation is good.  The aftertaste was crisp and clean.

Drinkability: With an ABV of 9%, Chimay drinks pretty darn well.  It goes down easy with no bitterness.

I liked the Chimay.  It has a typical “quality” Belgian ale taste and aroma.   All the components blend well together.  This beer went very well with the steak.  The slight sweetness cut through the fat of the meat.  While it is a very good beer, I think I liked the Trappistes Rochefort 6 a bit more.  The two beers are classified as the same style “Strong Dark Ale” and are close enough to draw a fairly even comparison as far as I’m concerned.  Both beers are very good and well worth drinking.  I have not been disappointed so far with my Trappist Ales tour, that’s for sure.

Here’s the score:

1.  Appearance- 9 points (out of 10)
2. Smell- 7 points (out of 10)
3. Taste- 16 points (out of 20)
4. Drinkability- 8 points (out of 10)

Total 40 (out of 50) Points -4 Mugs