Chimay Tripel (White) - Bières de Chimay S.A.

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Cloudy orange fizzy pour. Carbinotation made it interesting and classic Chimay.Tasty but worth sharing the bottle if without food. Bit of spice and pepper and (sour) yeast in taste. Bit bitter and alcohol feel. AFtertaste was dry. A classic Belgium but Chimay Blue is the best.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2003 16:37:39 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.55/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Murky orangish gold with a generous amount of swirling yeast that remains in suspension throughout. The crown is eggshell white in color and is voluminous despite a slow, gentle pour. It appears as if a great deal of lace will end up coating the sides of the glass, but strangely enough, very little actually does.

The aroma is average in intensity and is spicy and yeasty in character. The flavor is fruity, grassy and cardamom-clove spicy. There's also an underlying tanginess. Alcohol isn't front and center, but it is noticeable.

The beer is highly carbonated, just as the appearance suggested it would be. I'm amazed at how dry this triple is. Each mouthfeel leaves my tongue as clean as a whistle.

Keeping in mind the fact that I've only had a few Belgians so far... I'm not that impressed. Maybe that means my palate isn't sophisticated, maybe it means that they're an acquired taste that I haven't yet acquired, or maybe I'll never like them as much as a good hoppy IPA or creamy stout. In any case, Chimay White, according to many, is a good to great Abbey Tripel. At this early stage of my journey, it isn't really my cup of tea.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2004 19:43:25 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.43/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a big golden color, about what you would expect given the style with a light haziness to it that sat very well I have to say. Nice puffy white broken up head again just about right with a nice retention to it and a smooth look.

Aroma of breadiness at first gives way to light apricots, hints of grain. A touch of light grapes and a candy like brown sugar note that seems to come up stronger as it gets warmer, again, very nicely done. Very smooth, lighter on the palate then I thought it would have been, but very nice. Light banana notes, hints of light grains. A touch of grapes and light fruit as well. Very satisfying. Smooth light bitter finish capped it off rather well. Very nice again, just about right, smooth even carbonation light to medium feel and not too cloying. ABV hidden very well and the light hoppiness in the finish kicked in enough dryness to really make this one quite interesting.

Very solid offering here that I would have no issues with enjoying again. I would love to get another bottle as it really seems to have some legs.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2011 17:30:28 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

4.1/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at JT Schmid's in Tustin

A: The pour is a hazed golden-orange color with a fluffy off-white head.

S: Spices really shine through on this beer. Lots of coriander, and nutmeg. There's a lot of malt character, especially bread, with a little bit of biscuit. Some nice fruit notes of banana and orange.

T: Much the same story on the palate. There is a more pronounced citrus (orange) flavor and perhaps a bit more banana. Nicely sweet with plenty of bread and yeast. Good spiciness all the way around as well.

M: Medium bodied with a medium to high carbonation.

O: You can't really go wrong with a Chimay beer. Just great stuff.

Serving type: on-tap

07-04-2011 19:52:45 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from a 750mL bottle into a tulip with Thanksgiving dinner 2010.

Pours a dark peach color with a two-finger white head that doesn't have the best static power and doesn't leave around as much lacing as would be expected. The nose has some sligt booze with some banana, caramel, stone fruits, and general yeasty esters.

The taste is slightly sweet with a bit of malt, banana, light fruits, and a bit of spice. There is some alcohol there as well. Medium bodied with somewhat low levels of carbonation. Drinks fairly well, but is probably my least favorite of the Chimay trio.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2010 21:29:59 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4.33/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a clearish, orangey body with a large, pillowy, white head. Nice layering of lace on the way down.

Smell: Sweet-smelling, lightly toasted malts with a heavy addition of honey as well as caramel candy and notes of dried fruits and yeast.

Taste: Light caramel, orange blossom honey, and candi sugar envelop gently toasted malts. Dash of apricot juice. Pinch of spice. Mild hop character and accompanying bitterness. Subtle sour yeastiness. Warming alcohol presence and small bready hints on the drying finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Well carbonated.

Drinkability: Far better than even I had remembered. An enjoyable tripel -- quite drinkable, interesting, and readily available.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2008 20:50:12 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a cloudy apricot with a beaten egg white head that coats the chalice with lace

Smell: Assorted fruit (lemon, green apple, pear, kumquat), spice (clove, pepper and cardomom) and yeast must

Taste: Opens with a spicy fruit salad flavor that becomes increasingly peppery by mid-palate; after the swallow, there is a flash of bitter hops but the finish is herbacious and peppery with some residual impact from the fruit; alcohol kept pretty much in check

Mouthfeel: Medium body with spritely carbonation; some warmth on the finish

Drinkability: A very nice tripel, that avoids the sweetness of some of the other versions of the style; but I am not crazy about the herbacious quality

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2007 20:22:54 | More by brentk56

UCLABrewN84

California

4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a murky apple cider color with a nice off-white 1 inch head that fades to a small cap. No lacing on the drink down. Smells of yeast, spices, banana, orange peel, caramel. Taste is very yeasty all around. Sweet malt, dried fruits, and spices on the finish. There is a herbal-like bitterness on the tongue after each sip. Carbonation level is good. Very crisp drinking. Easy to drink and enjoy sip by sip.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2011 02:16:55 | More by UCLABrewN84

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle: Poured a cloudy light brown ale with a huge foamy off-white head with excellent retention. Aroma is mix between Belgian spices and strong malts and floral hops. Taste is quite delicious with again some spices showing up (some peppers?), strong malt with excellent body and all of this covered with floral hops. Less sweet then other tripel such as Westmalle but still very enjoyable overall.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2004 15:33:28 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

In comparison to the red and blue, the white falls a bit short. While still a quality beer, the alcohols get a little out of balance. The look is still a nearly perfect sight, the aromas pick up on a tart, spicy, alcohol that begins to dominate the delicate malt flavors. The fuitcake flavors and malts take a back seat to a rum-like flavor. A bitter flavor and feel hits the back of the throat and becomes a little husky. The muskiness and boldness of the beer still contributes to complexity and variety. I just prefer the red and blue.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2006 17:56:11 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My personal favorite from Chimay,what an awesome pour a huge billowing fluffy head with a rich golden color.The aroma is of honey and and yeast with some alcohol notes.The taste is also honeeish and yeasty with a nize zesty finish atruely complex and delightful Triple.I think it should be considered one of the top beers of the world,but hey its just me.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2003 16:55:57 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Hazy but w/out the large sediment normally found in the bottled version. Peachy in color w/ a fine creamy head that slowly dies to a 1/16", but leaves an excellent lace throughout the goblet. The aroma is somewhat chameleon-like in it's changing nature. In many ways, this defines the entire beer.The aroma is loaded w/ yeast, spice, sugary hints, light fruit and fresh hop. Coming & going are light aromas of raisin, orange, apricot, peach, honey, wild flowers, citrus, coriander, and pepper. The body is medium & the mouthfeel is creamy soft -almost cottony- due to the fine (but high level) of carbonation. Very lively but not sharp. The flavor wanders much like the aroma, varying it's intensity between sweetness, yeastiness, spiciness, acidity and bitter qualities. The flavors starts gently spicy and zesty w/ some hop bite, and an occasional flash of lightly sour acidity, eventually softening as it warms and loses carbonation, allowing more alcohol, sweetness and yeastiness to dominate. As you go through the glass these characteristics interact in different ways, giving it complexity. The finish is generally spicy and hoppy, w/ a quenching acidity and lingering yeastiness - although some more sweetness and fruit appears to linger towards the end of the serving. Firm, dry & hoppy w/ complexity. Not challenging, but interesting. The draft version clearly appears fresher, almost w/ a brighter taste, and is missing some of the mustiness of the bottles.

Serving type: on-tap

08-12-2002 08:05:11 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.51/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served in a Chimay chalice at Firkin.

It's been a while since I've had a nice Chimay white, so let's see how it goes tonight. It pours a lightly-cloudy amber-brass topped by a finger of lightly off-white foam. The nose comprises bread, Belgian yeast, light clove, and a hint of orange peel. The taste brings in more of the same, with more clove and black pepper and a bit of banana peel for good measure. The breadiness is also toned down a bit here, helping the spices shine through. The body is a light-leaning medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, a nice tripel, but not quite the paragon of the style I used to consider it being. The yeast comes across too bready and dominant to allow for much nuance to surface, but at least it's a tasty yeast effect...

Serving type: on-tap

04-04-2013 19:45:07 | More by TMoney2591

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.55/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

11.2 oz. bottle
Appearance; thickly opaque dark orange hue, with a full-flowering head of foam that dwindles and disappears almost immediately.
Aroma: sharp citrus, yeast, sour, must, ...that's it...
Taste: rather blase, little going on with the flavor, nothing to busy the palate.
Malt, yeast, thick citric, orangey feel, but little else, small, if any, hops, and fading flavor. Too sharp, too spicy, with little in the body and texture to balance that out. Feels drab, really, leaden, cardboard-y, actually. I don't re-visit this ale too often, so my memory is fuzzy whether this is supposed to taste so dreary.
Over halfway in, the fruitiness is broader, with more flavors swimming about, juicy, tropical fruits,pineapple, sweet, spicy, kicky...a far cry from the best tripels of Belgium. I may actually look into it, again, to investigate whether this sampling was inferior, and perhaps the brew was meant to taste much more amazingly. Until then...Chimay's is an underwhelming tripel experience.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2004 11:05:43 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

3.63/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a very hazy dark gold color with a thick frothy white head. The aroma is good. It boasts of wheat malts and wit yeast. It has a fruity aroma that gives a certain spice to the wheat malts. The taste is a bit strong, but it has decent flavor. There is alot of pale and wheat malts here with an elevated abv.. The mouthfeel is decent. It is a medium bodied beer with a little too much carbonation. It drinks quite well, but I prefer a sweeter wit. Nonetheless, this is a fine product.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2004 21:26:47 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

3.95/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A continuation of my intentional exploration of the Trappist products.

Poured from a bottle into a Chimay goblet. Beer is dark yellow and hazy forms a thick white / yellow head of medium and large bubbles. Leaves a lot of lacing on the glass, carbonation is moderate and medium sized bubbles.

Beer is estery and has a strong yeast aroma to it. Aroma is sweet as well, smells great.

Beer is oddly bitter in the front and back of the mouth. Bready and medium bodied, there is a slight aftertaste. Nice sweet fruit flavors in the midpalate. Beer seems a little dry, time for the second sip. I get the bitterness again. Its not a bad taste, in fact I like the taste of the beer. It negatively impacts drinkability and mouthfeel though. Its like an interuption when i'm drinking. Overall a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2009 20:55:21 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4.22/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to hudsonphotog for sharing this bottle.

A world classic that I had never gotten around to reviewing. The beer pours a hazy light copper color with a white head. The aroma is orange citrus with some pepper and Belgian yeast. The flavor is citrus fruit with quite a few spices and Belgian yeast. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. A classic example of the style that never disappoints.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2010 01:55:49 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured out a clear, golden color with a good deal of carbonation. It had a foamy, soft, off-white head that left trails of lace.

S - It smelled of resiny hops. Also, floral notes and hints of caramel.

T - This was sweet with a spicy hop kick. It also had light caramel malt flavor. Overall a bitter sweet taste.

M - It was sharp and dry. A fairly easy drinking beer with a medium body.

D - This is a great tripel. I enjoy all Chimay brews and this one hits the mark, too.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2008 21:12:12 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

4.03/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer poured hazy golden orange in color into a goblet with a finger-high white head. There is a moderate amount of carbonation that continually keeps a thin layer of bubbles floating on the surface.
S: There are aromas of cloves, spices and yeast in the nose.
T: A noticeable amount of bitterness is present in the taste, along with flavors of bananas, cloves and spices.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate with lots of lingering dryness in the finish.
D: It's quite different compared to other tripels given the bitterness but it's still a wonderful beer to sip.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2010 02:49:53 | More by metter98

MasterSki

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle I got as an Xmas gift that's been in the fridge for a while. Served in my Westvleteren chalice. Best before 2011.

A - Two fingers of soapy white foam with solid retention that dissipates to a thin cap and leaves a good amount of sticky lacing. Semi-opaque golden apricot color with lots of obvious sediment and bubbles racing around. One of the best looking tripels I've had - a little more lace and it'd be perfect.

S - This one is yeast central, with a good amount of black pepper, cloves & spices, and a touch of citrus zest. There are also some floral and earthy notes as well. This brew is very low on the fruitiness that I tend to like from this style.

T - The taste is earth and pepper-heavy, without much of the light fruit sweetness to balance it out. If fact, the flavor is somewhat understated in general - even after I let it warm up a bit. Nothing offensive here, but nothing mind-blowing either. Aftertaste is kind of yeasty and not-so pleasant. Well hidden ABV though!

M - A good thicker medium body with light carbonation tingle. The finish is neutral, with some residual stickiness. It's a little heaver than I expect from a tripel, but it's sufficiently weighty for the alcohol content.

D - The ABV is well hidden, and the carbonation is pleasantly mild. Still the lackluster taste and off-putting aftertaste make me uncertain whether I want to bother finishing this brew. There's nothing wrong with it - I can just think of more pleasant ways to use my liver and daily caloric intake.

Serving type: bottle

07-20-2009 19:17:28 | More by MasterSki

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.22/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a Chimay chalice. The beer is a hazy gold color that has a white sheen to it. Not much head was in this beer when it was brought to me fresh from the tap. It has a spicy aroma, but does not have any hotness to it. There is a light musty flavor and aroma here, which I find characteristic of many Belgian beers. A light white grape fruitiness rounds out the front and middle of this Trappist ale. There is a bit of hot spiciness in the finish of this beer, sort of a pepper type finish. This is pretty good, and is widely available.

Serving type: on-tap

12-15-2003 23:25:27 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.43/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap 8/28/07 at British Beer Company in Walpole, MA, served in a goblet glass.

A: The beer is a deep amber color, with a thin off-white head that fades at a decent rate and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of light malts, Belgian yeast and spice, but overall it’s a little faint.

T: The taste is nicely balanced with flavors of Belgian yeast, and spice along with a little bit of banana and apricot. Despite having a lot of sweetness, the malt character is pretty light and there’s a mild hops presence. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Very smooth and very crisp, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is very clean.

D: Very tasty, goes down easily, not very filling, good kick, nice representation of style, this is a great beer to stick with and drink for a long time and drink slowly. It’s one of the better Tripels that I’ve had.

Serving type: on-tap

08-29-2007 21:32:49 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had this one on tap at a little place called Stephanie's in Doylestown PA. It was the first time I had ever heard of Chimay and I felt like trying it. This beer poured out as an orangey opaque color with a thin white fizzy head on top. The lacing was minimal. The smell of the beer was soft and floral, had a light citrus aroma coming off of it too. The taste was soft and had a citrus flavor that faded into a nice refeshing wheat flavor. The mouthfeel was smooth and bubbly. Overall it's a good brew overall, just my not my favorite from Chimay.

Serving type: on-tap

07-27-2011 04:22:47 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.93/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours amber to slightlty hazy honey. 2 fingers+ white head. Good lacing and head retention

Smell: Earthy, not much else

Taste; Fruitty& then yeast, vanilla, lemon &oakiness. Alcohol, dryness & complexity (too much IMO) in the finish

MF: Effervescent & balanced for the style

Fairly enjoyable for the style, but not one of my favorite styles to be sure...

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2006 04:06:43 | More by russpowell

Halcyondays

California

3.55/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

11.2 oz. white bottle,

A: Pours a cloudy, hazy, light orange into a Chimay chalice, with a full white head, with great retention, pretty good Belgian lacing as well.

S: Smells of yeast esters, yellow apples predominately, and pepper.

T: Taste is an interesting mix of tart apples, bread malt, and a dry, earthy hop character of wet hay and grass. Not the best tasting tripel I have ever had, but nice.

M: Crisp and spritzy, smooth, with a bit of warming character from the alcohol, also has a bit of an herbal feel to it.

D: A good Tripel by Chimay, I liked the beer overall, but didn't really pique my interest, I'd definitely have it again though.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2007 23:03:08 | More by Halcyondays