Bières de Chimay S.A. Chimay Spéciale Cent Cinquante Tripel at 10.0% ABV
Pours a clear gold (some lees in the bottle) with a fat finger of fluffy white head, great retention, and chunky head. Nose is muted, candi sugar, Belgian yeast, faint floral hops and dark fruit. Taste follows suit, sweet and complex. Medium to light body, with a somewhat fluffy texture aided by the sustained moderate carbonation, and a lingering, sticky, boozy finish.
I’m a little torn here – it’s a decent enough tripel, albeit a touch on the sticky side, and missing the dry, floral aspect I tend to prefer in a tripel – but I feel like it would cellar really well. There’s a hint of dark fruit that I think would integrate very well with the booziness to make something partway between a tripel and a quad. As it stands, it’s a little exuberant and naïve. At the end of the day, though, it’s a Chimay, and if they do anything wrong, I haven’t seen it.
