CulturAle Press

Cellaring Beers: Chimay Speciale Cent Cinquante.  Abbey de Scourmont, Chimay, Belgium    At  Six Years From our “Vault”

Date:  February 28, 2018

The Story—  We’re not sure how this beer slipped through our drinking fingers when we bought it fresh in 2013, but maybe that’s OK anyway.   Trappist Belgian ales cellar well — the big ones, we were told at the brewery to lay down their dubbel for five years.  We assume they planned on people cellaring this special edition of this iconic beer.   We think it was something of a one off and not a relabeling.

Father Robert, who was at the time the number two monk at the brewery, took us on a several hours tour of the brewery and the bottling and cheese making facility down the road.   We’ve never forgotten his wisdom in summarizing what almost every brewery of any faith- or no faith at all– has encompassed:  “Our purpose is to take the gifts from God and make them useful to man.”   Thank you Father Robert.  Thank you God.

And on a side note– one of my favorite stories of the French Revolution involves Chimay.  At the height of the terror of the French Revolution, Robespierre imprisoned the mistress (later wife) of Jean Lambert Tallien, one of the legislative leaders of the assembly that authorized the Terror.  She apparently wrote him a letter accusing him of cowardice in yielding to Robespierre’s bloody campaign.  Fighting tears the next day, Tallien rose and condemned Robespierre and he was followed by numerous others.   Robespierre went to the guillotine the next day and Mme. Tallien, now known as the Grand Dame of Thermidor, went on to become Princess of Chimay.

The Beer— At six years it’s lost the sparkling brightness of the Chimay White Label– if this edition ever had the same level of carbonation.   It still shows the tasty smooth, but gently spicy depth and complexity that has made Chimay famous far from its monastery complex.   Just a bit of heat late attests to its strength.  .

Value — good to very good.   No one sells a beer like this cheap, but if you’re employed, this is why you work.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

 Starting Tomorrow:  TEN TOP TRIPELS for Spring.   Tripels are beers that can be enjoyed any time of year — their subtle and even enough for warmer months, but deep and complex enough for the depths of winter.   Our favorite season for them, however, is springtime: if it’s warm enough to sip them outside, great, but if it’s a chilly evening they’re perfect for a last-of-the-winter fire.

In February, we’ve dug into our legendary “vault” where we’ve been storing hundreds of bottles of beer waiting for the right time to taste them (or sell them for charity).   The charity market has slowed, so we’re working through them in front of a fire and finding some disappointments, but more very surprising delights.   You can find the full list –eventually– here on this “index post.”

 We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”