Review: Chimay 150 (Green)

While in Netherlands/Belgium in April, a lot of the plans I made were pretty much last minute. My buddy told me about a couple beer festivals, one being in Netherlands and another in Belgium. Both really seemed fun but nothing really popped out at me for beer selection at the Netherlands festival but going to a beer festival in Belgium (Zythos Beer Festival) in the town home to the world headquarters of AB InBev featuring many better Belgian beers that influenced me over the years? Yes please! I sampled a lot in the few hours I went there and made a few new friends but one of the first beers to pop out at me was Chimay 150 (Green). I had a great chat with a gentleman who was the procurer of nearly every monastery-based beer in Belgium and acts on behalf of the brewers to distribute the beers throughout Europe. I sampled a few classics like Orval, then he turns to me and says "you probably haven't had this one yet" and shows me a bottle of Chimay 150 in a green bottle. Well, at the time there were only one or two Belgian-based beers at my local liquor store (which has since changed) so of course I had to try it, and with it being a beer festival, I don't remember much of it except that I loved it, it was your quintessential Belgian ale.

From the bottle: Chimay 150 is a strong, sophisticated and refreshing blonde beer, with a balanced flavour and a floral fragrance, combined with hints of dried fruit and spices. 10% ABV

Appearance: A bit over carbonated but no worries! It pours a cloudy bright orange with a heavy amount of off-white/beige head on top. The head diminishes pretty quickly to leave behind a heavy layered lacing on the side of the glass.

Aroma: Notes of cloves, fresh yeast doughnuts, lemon, a hint of bubblegum, slight hint of bubble gum, slight floral hoppiness at the end - slight bit of alfalfa presence to it.

Taste: Surprisingly hoppy at the very first sip - floral, notes of alfalfa, bit of pine. Following it, I get notes of honey, lemon, a very Belgiany yeastiness to it. A tad aggressive but not boozy considering it's 10%. I'm surprised how hop-forward it is more than anything. More bitter than sweet, slight bit of iron-like taste at the end.

Overall Thoughts: When I took my first sip in several months, I got flashbacks of Unibroue's Lune de Miel, a beer I haven't thought about in nearly five years. Absolutely great Belgian ale, especially if you can deal with hops as they're a bit aggressive.