Chimay Première (Red)
From notes: Poured into a wine glass. Slightly cloudy reddish, brown with a thin, off white head that retains fairly well but leaves no lacing. As for the smell, its mostly malty with a hint of alcohol. The taste is giving me some spices and fruit up front along with some sweetness with a slight alcohol taste in the finish. It is very smooth, medium bodied and there's a little bitterness in the finish but not too much. The drinkability is high, especially for a Belgian (I typically find Belgian beers to not be very easy to drink). It's complex enough to where its enjoyable but not so much as to be a bad session beer. EDIT: Updating my review. I had this again and I'm better at drinking now. 11.5 oz bottle poured into a Chimay glass. Look: murky colored, looks brownish red. The head is off white, kind of reddish brown as well. The head pours two fingers and then settles down into a thin layer at the top of the beer. Oddly, looking at this beer in the Chimay goblet, I can't help but thinking "Of course this is a beer that some monks would be brewing." Smell: first it smells quite musty, as though I'm smelling an attic. There's some caramel malt, dark fruit like raisin, plum and fig, bread, and spiciness along with the yeast. I can't smell the alcohol. Taste: follows the nose well with fruity, spicy flavors. I can't taste much in the way of hops. The malt is clear and there's some bread flavor in the finish. The alcohol lurks in the background. Feel: smooth but fairly thin. Not much bitterness. Not much warmth from the alcohol either. Overall, a good beer and I'm glad I gave it a second go around since I could appreciate it more this time. Definitely give this one a try!