I have been sipping on my Chimay Ale for well over an hour. As the beer has slowly made the journey from refrigerated to room temperature, the flavor and richness slowly transformed along the way and has reached the point where all I can think is, “man, those monks were on to something.” The Chimay Blue is a Belgian ale brewed in the trappist monk tradition. I have one word to describe this beer: smooth.

The color of the beer is a very dark and cloudy amber. The aroma has a very subtle fruitiness to it. For being a big, high alcohol beer (9%), I expected an aroma that would reach up and grab my nose. Instead it was pretty low-key.

Much about this beer is low-key. It isn’t overly sweet. It’s not overly fruity. It doesn’t have the complexity of the Victory Golden Monkey. But I tell you what, it has such a smooth feel and wonderful taste that I could just sip on a glass of this for hours. As a matter of fact, I have.