Chimay Grande Reserve (Blue) - Blind Taste Test

[moviemaker1989]

I like the format and the "game show" aspect from both this episode and the next on Surly. The length doesn't bother me at all. Keep doing what you're doing!

[AgileHProductions]

@moviemaker1989 Thanks for the feedback. I hadn't made up my mind on the game show part as to whether it was good or not. It's good to get opinions.

[jcomp21]

NO Mark gave it a 5 before!

[AgileHProductions]

@jcomp21 I think I wrote that as an on-screen correction in the video. It's understandable if you missed it though.

[jcomp21]

This format is interesting because its doing something other beer shows don't do. Very cool.

[AgileHProductions]

@jcomp21 The format is very well-received so far.

[HardcoreBlofish1]

Maybe they should have told them the alcohol content before the taste test? It seemed like their biggest negative was that it tasted boozey, but it's a 9% beer. That's what you should expect.

[AgileHProductions]

@HardcoreBlofish1 I'm working on reorganizing the blind taste tests so that some of the information is revealed before the guys pick their ratings.

[HardcoreBlofish1]

Rememberable. That is all.

[Progfan2010]

You guys are a joke !!. Chimay Blue a 6 beer ???. The first guy thought it was Rochefort 10 (Second best beer in Belgium and 9th best in the world according to Ratebeer.com) and give it an 8????.

Belgian Strong Ales are definitely a style way above your taste.

You are the same guys who said would rather have a six pack of Light Bud instead of an Arrogant Bastard...No wonder.

[AgileHProductions]

@Progfan2010 It's too bad that you feel that way. Did you read our rating scale? A beer in the 6 to 8 range is still considered to be a good beer. Also, have you ever done a blind taste test? It's very challenging. You should try it and see how you do.  I have posted over 250 videos on Youtube and most of them are well-liked. The Arrogant Bastard episode and our original Chimay show are my two least liked videos. I hope you will check out the other videos I have that are more well liked.

[aeopmusic]

Thanks for pointing me to this video. I commend Mark for immediately identifying Chimay as a Belgian Trappist Ale; however, it is not a Tripel Ale (I think Chimay Blance is the only Tripel style one).

Price aside, & IMHO, Chimay Grande Reserve deserves a 9. But the stuff's so damn expensive (up to $15 per bottle), I can understand dropping it to an 8 on the overall, but that shouldn't be a factor in a taste testing.

P.S. I've never heard of an 11.2 ABV beer Mark! Do they exist??

[moviemaker1989]

@aeopmusic Barleywines and big imperial stouts can be 15%+

[chefelf]

Truly great episode. Love this format. Made it very interesting and fun.  Would love to see more like this!

[AgileHProductions]

@chefelf We have a bunch of taped episodes that will air first, but this format could make a comeback in the near future. I thought it turned out well too.

[hophedbrewhaus]

Love the Chad'z beer reviews shirt as well. Very cool to see the promotion of other beertubers!

[AgileHProductions]

@hophedbrewhaus I've been trying to buy T-shirts as I hear they are for sale. So far I have a ChadzBeerReviews, Beer Geek Nation and Greg's Beer Reviews. I want to support the Beertuber community. You need a shirt. When are you going to buy a BBA T-shirt and where it on your channel? :)

[hophedbrewhaus]

@AgileHProductions I just went to your site to buy one but unfortunately you're all out of Fat Guy sizes. :)

[AgileHProductions]

@hophedbrewhaus That sucks. Custom BBA T-shirts are also for sale at Zazzle.com if you search for "Better Beer Authority". Their are a lot more color options and sizes, but they cost a little more.

[hophedbrewhaus]

Brilliant idea. You're either a genius or you have way too much time on your hands. :)

[sector69102]

Cool! This is one of my favorite episodes of the the show, because it was a blind taste test. I hope to see more of videos like this!

[AgileHProductions]

@sector69102 Joby and were talking about how we could incorporate it into our next taping.

[nowitstimeforbeer]

Because of the new law that may be voted in on January 24th.

Didn't you wonder why google was posting the big black censor block as well as everywhere else. for example: type in internet censorship on youtube.

[nowitstimeforbeer]

You'd better hurry up and take the video down before someone sues you over copyright infringement.

[AgileHProductions]

@nowitstimeforbeer I don't get it....for what?

[ChuckMcChip]

@AgileHProductions @nowitstimeforbeer (SOPA reference)

I see what you did, there ;)

[drolretfa]

LOL, this is awesome. I would love to see it done again. Cheers!!!

[LandmarkMediaInc]

I like the blind taste test, and can see how it would be a good change of pace every now and then, but I like the intros where you introduce the beer, brewery, and style.

[AgileHProductions]

@LandmarkMediaInc I think the intros are good too. I didn't do one for this beer because we had already reviewed it, but I think it would be important for other beers that we do. It's just difficult to fit everything into the show and keep it somewhat short.

[AgileHProductions]

@LandmarkMediaInc I got the six pack of Cigar City Jai Alai IPA that you sent for the show. Thanks a lot. I'm super excited to feature it on the BBA. I'll give you a shout-out in the episode.

[vanaukentim]

I love the blind taste testing idea. I say go with it for future episodes!

[AgileHProductions]

@vanaukentim Thanks for the feedback!

[DenisLD]

This show keeps getting better and better! Nice! Cheers +)

[AgileHProductions]

@DenisLD Thanks. That means a lot coming from an awesome beer reviewer such as yourself!

[JackieChilds1]

Peoples pallets change over time, something you may have hated 5 years ago may turn out to be on of you favorites 5 years from now.

[AgileHProductions]

@JackieChilds1 Our tastes have changed dramatically just since we started this show. It will be interesting to see what we crave in 5 years from now.

[StumpyJoeJr]

Cool experiment James. The name and label definitely influence all of us in our reviews. Ideally we would do everything blind like a competition but that's just impossible to do for every review.

[AgileHProductions]

@StumpyJoeJr Maybe you should wrap all your beers in brown paper sacks and pour them with your eyes closed. :)

[AntoniustheGreat]

Great video! This is easily one of the best channels on youtube. Your videos are the best. James Knott is the coolest host of any show, period! Keep up the great work guys!

[AgileHProductions]

@AntoniustheGreat Based on this feedback, I'd say you have some of the best comments on Youtube - but I could be biased.

[bobottobob]

Bobottobob says 'YES' to the blind taste tests! Most superb episode James!

[AgileHProductions]

@bobottobob When bobottobob speaks, jimmy listens!

[xxfutureisnowxx]

Haha great episode..need more blind tests....but I must say, Rochefort 10 is very different from Chimay;)

[AgileHProductions]

@xxfutureisnowxx Haven't had it, but want to try it. Going blind was a little scary for the guys to put themselves out there. I don't think he had tried Rochefort 10 in while. But it's pretty easy to do Monday morning quarterbacking. It's much harder to guess what's going on at the time.

[xxfutureisnowxx]

@AgileHProductions

Haha yeah true....still, a great type of episode to do occasionally...maybe even do 3 different beers of a select style and have them guess which is which

[257milo]

Love the format!!! Would be good to use every other time for a change. Change is a good thing. The panel did much better this time on Chimay. I feel their taste for good beers has really evolved for the better. Considering this is a very subjective subject. The show is becoming a little addictive in a good way(: GOOD JOB!!!!

[AgileHProductions]

@257milo It's almost like you are reading my mind. We shoot two episodes at a time. I was thinking the first might be blind and the second would be the original format. But, we'll see how it evolves.

[plumerjr]

It's an interesting beer review authority. I'm sure it would be interesting to throw a low rated beer in the mix.Sure marketing and advertising influence us, that's what it's suppose to do. Also all of us have different tastes so what's to say a highly rated brew could taste awful or at least no living up to expectation. I've had a few brews like that.

[AgileHProductions]

@plumerjr I think Sam Adams Boston Lager.  A lot of craft beer guys won't even touch it but I found it to be a pleasant surprise when we featured it on the show.

[AgileHProductions]

@AgileHProductions I forgot to type... "Boston Lager is a good exammple"

[plumerjr]

@AgileHProductions I think of Samuel Adams Boston Lager as a sort of a "gateway" brew for someone seeking something more than your traditional macro-brew. It could also be discounted as being too popular. As far as craft brew guys staying away from it could be due to it not being as cool or hip as drinking something obscure made by ultra-reclusive monks or some obscure farm in northern New England.

[brandon0409]

I like how you had already reviewed the beer. Then re-reviewed it without the influence of the label and reputation staring at you. And you can give it a true review on whether they like it or not. Now it's more genuine. Do they like it or do they not. Good job. I think you should do more of these blind tastings of beers you've already done to look at the difference in the ratings. Fun.

[JDSproducitons]

I love this!!! Do more of this.

[AgileHProductions]

@JDSproducitons Thanks.  We have a bunch of episodes we have already taped, but I am going to try and work in some more blind taste tests throughout this year.

[ChadzBeerReviews]

I think the term Mark was looking for is "placebo effect"

[ChadzBeerReviews]

You guys should do blind tastings more often. I think this particular beer is a bit over-rated and over-hyped. At least fresh. If you can get a 2 or 3 year old vintage it's pretty smooth and more drinkable and enjoyable.

Somone forgot to plug in in the microphones!

[AgileHProductions]

@ChadzBeerReviews It's not a bad beer, but I think there are plenty of beers that I enjoy more that are much less expensive.

[brandon0409]

It definitely lets them review the beer and not just the name. Which is what I think typically happens in 90% of all beer review. This is the best format for beer reviews.

[AgileHProductions]

@brandon0409 It's a great format, but is a little more logistically challenging for me and my staff of none. :)

[ChadzBeerReviews]

@AgileHProductions how so? just pour the beer while the guys are upstairs, then hide the bottle and tell them to come downstairs and drink. Easy!

[brandon0409]

Did you forget to turn on the mics? It sounds like you are using the camera mics from across the room. 

But i love the format of this review.

[AgileHProductions]

@brandon0409 Not sure what happened with the audio. Pretty annoying, but at least you can understand everyone.

[1omAngryHawk]

This is one of my top five favorite beers, number one is Schlafly reserve imperial stout. Fantastic review format!!!

[AgileHProductions]

@1omAngryHawk I liked this a lot the first time. This time it didn't taste as magical. Not sure what the difference is. I'll have to try and get my hands on some of that Schlafly.

[zodiak3000]

damn, i love this beer. surprised it scored so low. i really dig the blind tasting though, great way to achieve an honest opinion without the bs...

[Ronlb3469]

How much is Chad paying you for wearing his shirt?

[AgileHProductions]

@Ronlb3469 He should pay me, right? I wore it one night for two tapings. Mark wore it once and it showed up once on Askjames. I'll send him an invoice. :)

[GusDom]

Great video, more of these would be fun for sure. Very honest tastings make for interesting arguments.

[Cpculliton]

Double blind experiment, to answer your question.

[AgileHProductions]

@Cpculliton Double blind would be hard to pull off with my limited time, staff and budget. After all, someone has to drive to the store and buy the beer.

[Cpculliton]

@AgileHProductions I meant what he was talking about with Psychological observations, where you have no preconceived notions of the thing you're sampling, a double blind would be improbable.

[ReigningOnYourParade]

More blind tastings!!!

[AgileHProductions]

@ReigningOnYourParade Thanks for the feedback.  Everyone seems to like the blind tastings.

[Comp3630]

I like this format a lot.

[AgileHProductions]

@Comp3630 Did you think the "guessing game" was good or just the fact that it was blind.

[Comp3630]

@AgileHProductions Both.

The blind test part gives me a better idea of the taste. Marketing plays a big roll in everything and the human brain seems to be fooled all the time. I like the reviews without the hype or un-hype, it seems to be more hoest.

The guessing part is just fun to see the guys react. XD

[dfasimon]

Great video.  You guys should do more blind tests.

[AgileHProductions]

@dfasimon Your wish is my command - but it will be a few weeks.

[jomacooso]

Blind tastings are way better. Keep this up

[AgileHProductions]

@jomacooso Thanks for the feedback!