I splurge on a a bottle of Chimay fairly frequently. I like the Red though they’re all interesting and good or great usually. The last bottle of Red was freakin fan-tastic.
Nutty, a bit hoppy and malty. Clean tasting and in balance. It was like falling in love again.
Tonight the bottle’s like a nasty ex-girlfriend. :-X Metallic throughout. Sour. Astringent.
I remember when the Red was less than $6. Now it’s $12. And it’s never consistent. Maybe it’s me but that’s my experience.
I’ve had similar experiences. I won’t buy it anymore unless it’s on tap, and usually the places that have it on tap have morew interesting beers for me to drink anyway. :-\
When it’s good though, it’s really good. 
Chimay Cinq Cents!
You need to move to Europe. I have never had a bad Chimay and drink plenty of them.
Life without Chimay would be diminished.
Ant Hayes
Tonbridge, Kent
What’s funny is Chimay was the first beer which was distributed when we changed the laws in NC and upped the ABV percentage. Because it was first on the market it went in everywhere. I can get it at almost every grocery store. So one day I have to drive at least 3 hours to get it and the next it’s 5 minutes away.
I’ve always found it to be pretty consistent, but I don’t often reach out for a bottle…YMMV
gods beer.
Sweet elixir of life.
I had one on tap last night for the first time, then the second, third (blur)…Im not sure how I got home and I cant find my truck.
Preach on brother, preach on 
I’m often asked `is the beer really better in Belgium, short reply is a solid YES! put a six pack in your car for a couple months, then compare to a fresh bottle and see for yourself. 
You’ve hit upon why I started brewing. My parents lived in Bavaria for eight years during the '80s. I would go to visit them and drink the local Bayerisch weissbier. Awesome! Everything I found in the States was old and nasty; a total waste of money.
So I started brewing my own. It took a while to get it right. Those banana and bubblegum-like phenols were tough to emulate back then. But, even my first attempt at a weissbier was ten times better than the stale stuff I found on the shelf. Weissbier is definetly one style of beer where the local brewey has the home field advantage.
I luv a good Chimay red every once in a while ;D I’ve never had a bad one, but i have another question. Does Chimay still use their fermenting yeast for bottling? I was thinking of making a starter from one.
Has anybody else noticed that they use Chimay bottles for whiskey bottles on the TV series Deadwood?
AFAIK, yes. As Stan pointed out in BLAM, with so much of the fermentation strain around, it doesn’t make sense to use a different yeast.
I’m beginning to think that it how the Chimay is handled. The last awesome one was out of the cooler at Central Market where there’s a “beer expert” on hand. The one last night was a warm one from a dusty shelf above my head and god only knows (and the stocker) how long it’s been there.
But… I’ve had good ones off that shelf before.
I’ll still buy it (sigh) because when it’s good it’s something else altogether and inspirational. I’m gonna buy a couple of the small bottles today from the fancy beer store and see.
It’s like a bad relationship. Just keep going back for more…
BTW, I think the brewery uses malt extract and hop extract?
Really like their beers. I like the red best. Can’t say I have ever had a bad beer from this brewery.
Authentic Trappist Products at their best IMO.
Isn’t it Wyeast 1214?
Yep.
I think the Chimay beers seem particularly sensitive to handling and storage issues. Some of the most disappointing bottles I’ve ever opened were Chimay, especially the Red.
We had the good fortune to visit the cafe at Chimay last year. All of the beers were phenomenal! Plus, the Blue they served us was properly matured (about 6 months old). We also visited In De Vrede, the cafe for Westvleteren, and their beers were so fresh that they were a major disappointment. No real character at all. None were more than a few weeks since bottling.
I also learned that Cinq Cents (White) is different in kegs vs bottles. The kegged beers have additional dry hops, although it’s unclear whether there were dry hops still in the keg. I had one at a beer dinner in Antwerp that just blew me away! It had just as much hop flavor and aroma as many of the newer Belgian-American IPAs have. That was also where we learned about the additional hopping for the kegged beer.
I would love to have the nectar at the source.
Bought 3 Red and 3 of the White. My sinuses are behaving today so I resumed the taste test this afternoon.
As far as quality issues check this out:
I still bought it so a photo could be made. And the lighter one tasted better but basically the same beer.
It’s hard to say for sure from the photo, but the bottle on the left looks like it’s made with darker glass. Look at the glass in the space above the beer.
could be the condensation is making it look darker.
Their portion control is off too. One bottle has a little less. Unless it was opened.
Oh wait, I thought they were red and white side by side.
Snap!
Thanks! I check and it is indeed different glass. I’m kicking myself since spotting that sort thing of is my actual job. >:(
So “perception” may be a bit skewed here. I’m doubting myself. I know! More experimentation is in order…