I know, I know… Cincinnati’s a beer town. By that I mean that we LOVE our local breweries. I might be a little obsessed with them more than the average drinker, actually – but that doesn’t mean I can skip something like this when it comes up.

Chimay is one of those beers that holds a spot close to the hearts of beer drinkers across the country. I’d even go out on a limb and say that it’s got the ability to get current fans of craft excited about something that has been around forever.

About Chimay

Chimay is one of the only eleven Trappist breweries worldwide, and through their more than 150 years of brewing beer… I think they’ve learned a thing or two. This stuff is fantastic… and you just don’t see all four of them available on tap at the same time.

In order for a brewery to carry the label “Authentic Trappist Beer”, the beer has to be brewed within the walls of a monastery under the control of a community of monks. In addition, the revenues must be devoted to social service. Chimay, for instance, donates the revenue from their beer back into community outreach and to multiple charities throughout the Chimay region.

In a lot of ways… this was craft beer before we had a fancy label and a little upside down bottle logo to tell you something was independent.

The Four Beers

Chimay brews up four different varieties, and like I said before… you just don’t see these on tap at the same time, which is why this partnership is so exciting for beer geeks. The four beers are:

• Chimay Premiere – 7% ABV – the oldest of the Chimays, this Dubbel is coppery in color and boasts flavors of apricots, brown sugar and nutmeg, making it an incredibly delicious dark ale.
• Chimay Cing Cents – 8% ABV – this Tripel, with it’s golden hue, offers a rare balance of mellowness and bitterness in the taste with a subtle combination of fresh hops and yeast.
• Chimay Doree – 4.8% ABV – for a long time, this ale was reserved for the monastic community and the guests and staff of the abbaye. The Doree has refreshing aromas of hops and spice and an easy drinkability.
• Chimay Grand Reserve – 9% ABV – this Quad, originally brewed as a Christmas ale in 1948, has rich flavors of mulling spices and caramel, with a smooth palate and warming finish.

The Tapping

While it’s pretty fun to see that all the Taste of Belgium locations will be rotating through a Chimay feature beer on tap starting in August… the really fun part is happening at the Banks.

The Banks location of Taste of Belgium is offering up something that you won’t find anywhere else in the world (except the Chimay Brewery in Belgium… all four of the beers at the same time. It’s all part of Taste of Belgium’s quest to introduce our city (and it’s drinkers) to Belgian beer in an atmosphere that is prime for the experience.

They’ve put together a custom tasting flight of all four, so you can saddle up to the bar, and see what all the fuss is about for yourself. If you keep your eyes peeled, you’ll see that they’re also getting ready to launch a few special menu items featuring Chimay’s cheeses in all their locations too… as if this couldn’t get any better!

I’ll have more on this in the near future… because I have to get my hands on one of these flights for myself, and I assure you when I do – you’ll be the first to hear about it!