Biere Des Moines - Chimay Grande Reserve

I present you oh most appreciated reader with a second installment of my Bieres Des Moines series where we take a peek at beers made under the control of Monks that are available to us here in our fair city.

Known the world over by it's nickname Chimay Blue (or Bleue in it's home country) is perhaps the best known of the Trappist beers. The Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont is one of the most well established Trappist breweries in the United States and has been for quite some time. The brewery produces four beers Chimay Red, Chimay Triple, Chimay Doree which like the Petit Orval is basically reserved for the Monk's themselves, and finally the beer we are looking at today Chimay Grande Reserve. Along with these beers the community makes cheeses as well. One of these I'll get the chance to pair with my Chimay Blue today!

The beer it's self is easy enough to find, a trip to stores like Beer Crazy, Ingersoll Wine and Spirits, Sbrocco, and Cyclone Liquors will land you a bottle, and if you're picking up groceries as well, most Hy-Vee locations have it too.

The beer it's self always surprises me. It's one of those old faithful beers I've had time and time again. Now I hardly drink it but a few times a year, and I always kind of wonder why I don't drink it more often. The aroma is fruity and very driven by Chimay's proprietary yeast strain first propagated from the wild from a single cell by Brother Theodore in the 1960's. Other aromas include dark fruit, milk chocolate, a nice nuttiness, and some apple. The aroma shows that at 9% abv this is a strong beer however the alcohol notes in the aroma work well with the rest of the beers olfactory character. The flavor follows with that nice nuttiness, but the fruit is more intense and the chocolaty and almost roasty notes of the aroma are all but forgotten. The beer plays with flavors like Plum, raisin, brown sugar, and some nice floral and alcohol notes. Again showing it's strength my bottle is a fairly fresh one and the alcohol (which fades slightly with cellaring) is strong but in no way unbalanced.

The Cheese is Chimay's Grand Classique which I picked up from Gateway Market is as it has many times been described a very nice match for the beer. The rind of this cheese (I have been told) is washed in Chimay Grande Reserve which of course is a damned elegant touch. The cheese is nutty and creamy with a light earthiness and sweetness. The flavors of the beer and the cheese indeed work well together.

Now go to the store and find some. In all likelihood it's right down the block.