Chouffe Envol 2000

Formerly brewed at Brasserie d’Achouffe (Moortgat)
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Achouffe, Belgium

1.5 l bottle at Man in the Moon, Stockholm. Deep golden color with some yeast flocs and fluffy head. Dry, tart, fruity, herbal, peppery and very musty aroma. Sweeter, bready, fruity, herbal and musty flavor with vanilla, coriander and lemon. Drinkable but certainly past its prime.

Bottled@Man In The Moon, Stockholm. Golden colour, small white head. Aroma is earth, yeast some mild fruity hops as well as some wooden notes. Flavour is toffee, caramel, hops and mild notes of wood and vanilla. Pleasantly balanced and rather fullbodied. Aftertaste gets some toffeeishness. Once it warms up some slight yeastyness and mild acidic notes show up, making it more complex. No big needs to have this one cooled down.

In short: A very much oxidized, acidic, minty and yeasty 8 year old beer. Surprisingly still drinkable.
How: Czech Republic trip planning tasting session, 1.5L bottle from Taktik_MTL’s brother.
The look: Cloudy blonde body with a short-lived white head.
In long: Not a rating per say. More a statement to anyone still holding on to one of those rare bottles. If you are keeping it for a special occasion I hope the occasion is coming soon. This single batch 8 year old beer is very much going downhill at this point. Aroma of white peppermint candy. The beer is as yeasty as it is oxidized. If a bottle could rust this one would have. Acidic from start to end. The acidic oxidation is reaching unpleasantness level, at least not to my gueuze-loving taste buds. Bready, lime, mint and some sawdust. Carbonation is still very lively and tickling. Finish is very short with the acidity and oxidation quickly washing up everything. Overall not bad at all if oxidation is not too much of problem for you. I mean the best-before date on this bottle was 2002, same the Low-Fat mayonnaise jar that’s sitting in my fridge, what the hell was I thinking…

Bouteille verte de 1.5 l, avec bouchon de liège, dégustée avec MartinT et Glouglouburp. Embouteillée en septembre 1999 et meilleur avant septembre 2002. Arôme: Goût de menthe, d’épices et d’agrumes. Apparence: La couleur est blonde voilée, avec beaucoup de lie, et une très faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col mousseux. Saveur: Goût d’épices avec une pointe de lime. Dirée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture minérale. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Légère présence d’épices en arrière goût. J’ai hésité à mettre ce rating mais puisque la bière avait encore de grande qualité, c’est-ce qui m’a décidé à le mettre. (Rating #1446).

Another celebration with the Chouffes…These guys know how to party…They must have put lots of rosemary and mint in this one…Lime, oranges and various citrus fruit scent the already exuberantly spicy air...An 8-year-old bottle recently proved to have held up interestingly too...It was very oxidized of course, but all those herbs and spices were brazenly expressive and carbonation was still furiously excited...I love these Chouffe magicians…