Our second show in the Belgian beer series we look at the comparatively widely available Chimay Red. Don’t be fooled by the little bottle, it’s a big beer.
News
We try to stay out of the political fray, but this news story is relevant to the show. Sixpoint Brewery out of Brooklyn, New York brewed a special batch of Hop Obama beer, a beer named after the Presidential candidate. Some of the highlights of the beer, it is made from five different malts, apparently representing the Senators diversity and up bringing. The beer is already sold out, so don’t look for it in your local store. I am sure that someone will brew up a Hillary beer and a McCain Ale in the future as well. I mean Billy Beer did so well, why not try them all.
Dubbels
- Generally speaking a Dubbel is a rich malty beer with some spicy and mild alcoholic characteristics.
- Mild bitterness from the hops may be present, but no real hop after taste is around.
- These beers tend to be full bodied and can have different degrees of carbonation.
- Generally speaking, they will be between 6-9% ABV.
- What does the dubbel mean though? Well, the origins are a little unclear, but one likely answer may be that originally wood casks were marked with a center number of X’s to show there strength. Two X’s, it became a dubbel.
Chimay Red
- Chimay is rather popular and pretty widely available, both in the bigger 750 ml bottles and the 11.2 oz bottles.
- The beer is actually named after the small town near the French border in Belgium.
- Established in 1850 and brewing commercially as of 1862, demand has grown steadily in recent years.
- Chimay has three major beers, the Chimay Red, Chimay White, and Chimay Blue.
- Weighing in at 7.00% ABV, Chimay Red most certainly is a little stronger than some of the beers that we have been tasting, but right in there for a Dubbel.
- This one pours a medium brown, maybe even a little bit of copper. Remember this is a bottle conditioned beer, so it may have some yeast still in there.
- The taste is kind of basic for a good Belgian. You taste sweeter malt in this one, again very little to no hop presence. If you want a hoppy beer, don’t get a dubbel.
- A lot of people have said that the older versions of this beer are much better, more complex, so keep that in mind if you find an older bottle.
Next Week
Is our one year anniversary show. It is the long awaited food and beer show, with special guest Kurt. Kurt is a great friend of the show, chef and home brewer – a perfect combination for the show.
In two weeks will be the second of the dubbel beers, and this one domestic. We will be taking a look at Ommegang Abbey Ale from Ommegang Brewing Company in Cooperstown New York.
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