Mc Chouffe

Brewed by Brasserie d’Achouffe (Moortgat)
Style: Scotch Ale
Achouffe, Belgium

Notes of spice on the tip of tongue. A cloudy, reddish color, very nice. Head doesn’t last too long. A subtle beer that finishes clean and is easy on the palate. Sweet with a good sense of malt and hops.

Pours brown - cloudy, opaque - with a thin, light tan head that leaves a heavy lace on the glass. The aroma has a lot of chocolate, some maple syrup, some spices, some grassy notes, and a bit of alcohol. The flavor is very nutty, very chocolatey, some maple syrup, sweet malts, mild taste of funky yeast and fruitiness, and mild hop bitterness. Alcohol is also perceptible in the flavor, but barely so. The beer finishes somewhat dry. The mouthfeel is creamy, bubbly, and not too thick.

Rating 200. 750ml bottle. Pours cloudy brown with a small puffy tan head. The nose is malty and slightly sweet. The taste is really right on. It is sweet, malty and tangy with bits of caramel and a variety of malt flavors. Delicious.

Pours a clear, but dark, ruby. Some tan head. Nose is slightly sweet with a fruit edge. Flavor is mild with a strong sweet tone that has hints of a slight spice and a barely noticeable alcohol tone on the end. Feel has a slightly thicker bubble on it. Easily drinkable.

Bottled. A deep reddish brown beer, with a rocky and creamy light brown head. Fruity complex aroma. The flavour is sweet malty, with some vinous and woody notes. The bitterness is very low, but enough to balance this beer. The body is quite powerful and the aftertaste is quite long. A great beer.

Pours amber brown with an off white head. Aroma is banana and sugary caramel malt. Flavor is dark fruits, caramel and hints of banana. Good stuff.

Bottle. Moderate malt notes of caramel and nutty, light hops of herbs, and a moderate yeast aroma of dough, with wood and brown sugar in the background. Head is huge, both fizzy and rocky, off-white, has good lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is clear brown. Flavor starts moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes lightly sweet, acidic, bitter and sour and just a touch salty. Palate is medium, watery and a little oily, and the carbonation is between lively and fizzy. It finishes a little metallic and astringent. This my first Scotch ale and I like it, mostly for the taste and texture.

One of my first favorite beers was Newcastle Brown Ale. The second I opened the 75cl bottle of Mc Chouffe, I caught a familiar aroma, but better. Much better. The pour was great right into the center of the tall glass, creating an immense, cream colored head, followed by beautiful lacing. Taste was rich, buttery, burnt, caramel. A pleasant fruity sweet aroma catches the nose. The taste lingers and can be felt on the tounge minutes later. Crisp and refreshing. Excellent beer.