Chimay Tripel (White)

Chimay is an authentic Trappist beer that is brewed within a Trappist monastery, under the control and responsibility of the monastic community. Only 6 beers in Belgium can carry the appellation "Trappist": Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, Westvleteren and Achel.  I haven't had very many Tripels, so the style is still something new to me.   The only beers of the style that I have had are Victory Golden Monkey and La Fin Du Monde, so due to that, I don't have a heck of a lot to compare this beer to.  I've been looking forward to trying this beer for quite sometime.

Tripels generally range from 8% to 12% ABV so although Chimay White is rather high in alcohol (8.0%) it's on the low end for a Tripel.  The IBU is 36.
The glassware recommended for this tasting is a snifter or goblet.  I have neither and feel foolish for using it, but, oversized round wine glass is going to have to do.

A:  Hazy amber color with an off white head.  Pours a one finger off white head that disippates to a slight wisp rather quickly.   Very good sticky lacing on the glass is present.

S:  Tons of yeast is present up front in the scent along with spicy hops.  Banana is also present in the scent with helps offset the onslaught of spices and yeast.

T:  More banana is present on the taste than the smell.   Banana is present up front which gives way to a bready yeasty flavor.   The beer has a rather dry and bitter hops finish to it. There's also a little bit of an alcohol induced warming sensation on the back end of the taste. There's hardly any aftertaste present besides the hops.   It's got a very well balanced overall taste to it.

M:  Medium bodied yet heavy on the carbonation which makes it rather difficult to drink quickly, which is a good thing due to that 8.0% ABV.

D:  It's a tasty beer and the 8.0% doesn't jump out at you in the taste at all.   It makes it a drinkable beer.   Obviously it's not a beer you want to session, but it goes down fairly easy.

Grade:  This isn't the best beer I've ever had, but I see no reason to not give it two thumbs up.  It's well rounded and tasty.   You can't ask for much more.

Unibroue La Fin Du Monde

I've had two other beers from this great Canadian brewery, Unibroue. Both of those beers, Blanche de Chambly and Ephmere (Apple) I have enjoyed. The first more than the second. I hope the trend of great beers continues with this one.
La Fin Du Monde is a higher alcohol beer. It's a tripel that measures in at 9% ABV. The other Tripel I had was Golden Monkey by Victory, which I thought was a pretty good beer, but probably not something I'd want again and again. It was nice to try, but it probably ends there. Hopefully this can be a little bit of a different experience for me although the higher alcohol does scare me a bit.

A - Hazy golden orange. Fluffly head that dissipates rather quickly to about a 1/8" of foam. Can see all kinds of stuff floating around the beer. It looks very similar to a standard hefeweizen.

S - Kind of smells like chalk and flowers. A little bit of citrus hint to it also. Slight alcohol scent also.

T - Sweet. Very sweet. It's a very balanced beer. Fruit mixed with wheat, with some light hops. Coming from a guy that doesn't like the bite of alcohol, I didn't taste it at all which is very surprising based the ABV level. I don't taste a hint of the alcohol at all, which I love.

M - Medium carbonated and medium bodied. Starts off with a hard and crisp feel but smooths out rather quickly.

D - I feel that is has a very high drinkability which is bad because the alcohol will definitely sneak up on you and crush you. Could easily put this beer down in a few minutes, although I would recommend not too.

An overall pretty enjoyable beer. Even though I like the taste of it, it's not really my style of beer, so I probably wouldn't rush out to ever have it again which leaves me to only give up a thumb up.

Good beer though. Definitely one of the better beers I have had. I just don't like the idea of such a high ABV.

Victory Golden Monkey

My fourth beer from Victory. So far I have pretty much convinced myself that Victory doesn't make a bad beer. I'm stretching awfully far out of my comfort zone with Golden Monkey.
Well, saying awfully might actually be a stretch in itself... Golden Monkey is a tripel, and I have never had one before so I'm really not sure what I am in store for.
Here is a quick run down on a tripel per www.beeradvocate.com

-The name "Tripel" actually stems from part of the brewing process, in which brewers use up to three times the amount of malt than a standard Trappist "Simple." Traditionally, Tripels are bright yellow to gold in color, which is a shade or two darker than the average Pilsener. Head should be big, dense and creamy. Aroma and flavor runs along complex, spicy phenolic, powdery yeast, fruity/estery with a sweet finish. Sweetness comes from both the pale malts and the higher alcohol. Bitterness is up there for a beer with such a light body for its strength, but at times is barely perceived amongst the even balance of malts and hops. The lighter body comes from the use of Belgian candy sugar (up to 25% sucrose), which not only lightens the body, but also adds complex alcoholic aromas and flavors. Small amounts of spices are sometimes added as well.
Tripels are actually notoriously alcoholic, yet the best crafted ones hide this character quite evil-like and deceivingly, making them sipping beers.

I looked around on Victory's website a bit and pulled up some stats on this brew.
It holds a Silver Medal in the International Beer Competition in '04 and also holds a Bronze Medal in the Australian International Beer Awards in '08.

Victory has this to say about the beer -

Strong and sensual, this golden, Belgian-style ale glows with goodness. The richness of German malts and Belgian yeast are tempered by a sparkling approach and overall light body. Considerable depth of character with abundant herbal, fruity notes make this one to savor.

COMPOSITION
Malts: 2 row German malt
Hops: European whole flowers
Yeast: imported, of Belgian origin
Alcohol by volume: 9.5%

I'm a little nervous because I feel with the way I have hyped up Victory that I HAVE to like this beer.

A - First of all, yes that head is as fluffly as it looks in the picture. Unbelievable. It's about 5 minutes after pour and it's still that big too. The lacing is just stuck all over the glass. Wow. As you can see it's a nice golden color. Maybe that's why they named it Golden Monkey and not Brown Monkey. Looks like your typical Witbier in my opinion but with a fluffier head.

S - Disappointed might be a bad way to say this, but when I saw 9.5 ABV I was expecting this beer to reek of alcohol upon opening. It didn't. Not even the slightest hint of alcohol. I'm hoping the taste duplicates that. Can't really put my finger on the smell that good. Smells a little like pears and apples. Also it smells like it will have a sour bitter taste.

T - Oddly enough, it tastes like it smells. It has a really smooth taste to start with and then it gets a little tart and hoppy. Definitely a hint of alcohol front loaded on the taste but the hoppiness contrasts well with it and it's a little hard to notice. The alcohol definitely warms up the mouth/throat/stomach but it doesn't feel like it's going to burn a hole anywhere. After the alcohol goes away there is a pretty pleasant grassy taste along with hints of the pear/apple. I wouldn't say the taste blows me away, but I was expecting it to disappoint me and be terrible.

M - Very smooth and very bubbly in the mouth.. no other way to really describe it.

D - Dare I say that even though this beer is 9.5% ABV it's shockingly drinkable. Seems like this compared with the smoothness overall of the beer could cause problems. It could easily creep up on you if you don't have self control and sip it. After all, a beer this high should be sipped.


I really want to give this beer two thumbs up, I really do. But because it's not really my style and didn't blow me away and want me begging for more, one thumb up will do.

It's a pretty good beer. I'd imagine it's probably better than the average tripel.

But I do applaud the fact that I don't want to drain pour an almost 10% ABV beer.