Beer Advent Calendar Window Seventeen

Beer Advent Calendar Window Seventeen - Chimay Blue

Something that I've really enjoyed about this year's Beer Advent Calendar is revisiting and redisocvering Belgian Abbey/Trappist beers that I have sadly neglected in recent years. Maredsous Brune 8 and Rochefort 10 have both been sensational. So I'm really looking forward to rediscovering Chimay Blue.

With an unsurprising 100 on Ratebeer, this is a famous beer that is year dated, as older versions are well sort after. My own version is from 2015 so it will be interesting to see how it comes up when "fresh."

"Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things are those that we can't see."

Chimay Blue 9%

When you're unfair to a beer and don't give it the time that it deserves, it maybe deserves an apology.

See what we British like to do is combine a load of dried winter fruit and booze at Christmas. Fruit and booze unintentionally seems to form the majority of the tasting notes of my Advent Calendar beers. Raisins, sherry, dates, port, prunes, brandy; all those Christmas flavours that pop up again and again in Christmas beers. And it's because we love fruit and booze.

Christmas CAKE with extra booze. Christmas PUDDING that we set on fire WITH BOOZE and then add a sauce made WITH BOOZE to it. Mince Pies - that taste better if they are made with more booze! Cranberry and red wine gravy is even a thing I do. And what do I want for breakfast on Christmas day? A Clementine and some Bucks Fizz. FRUIT AND BOOZE!

I tell you this because I'm not writing anything else about this classic ale. In some ways it doesn't want to be drunk this fresh. But, when it is this fresh it tastes like Fruit and Booze. It tastes like Christmas because it tastes like Fruit and Booze. Raisins, sherry, dates port, etc... Everything I feel I'm repeating. But it's better, bigger and more important that that. It just is beautiful.

Mince Pie pairing rating: 9/10 - FRUIT AND BOOZE

Best Paired with: Lebkuchen. And Christmas music.

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