N’Ice Chouffe

750ml bottle. Pours a cloudy dark amber with a nicely laced off-white head. Aroma is rich, with a backbone of sweet caramel alongside a hoppy citrus bite, dark fruit, autumnal spices, and some roasted malt. Taste is rich and medium-bodied with an initially sweet flavor of caramel, roasted malt, and coffee giving way to a lingering finish of hops, spice, and a bite of brown liquor. An excellent cold-weather brew and another winner from Chouffe.

Frothy head with the consistency of whipped egg whites and perfect brown-red hue. The flavor has strong notes of spice (cinnamon, cumin, ginger, and clove) with a floral presence not unlike rose. The finish is simple and does not linger particularly long on the palate. Pair with a hearty, buttery washed rind cheese like Pere Joseph or possibly French munster.

bottle from 2006. pours copper with fluffy beige head. Spicy nose with malty undertones. Flavor follows suite with hints of citrus, tyme, malts, caramel, and yeast. alcohol is well masked. Decent, but not as good as the rest of the chouff line.

Bottle. Brown sugar, a little bit of sparkling wine and spices, malt. Black body, big brown creamy head which is long lasting. The initial flavor is bitter, the finish is a little bit alcoholic. On the palate the beer is a little bit alcoholic but not too much despite the 10 %, dry and medium bodied, soft carbonation, long and mild finish. Very nice beer, I will enjoy the rest of the 750 ml bottle during the christmas evening ;-)

750ml bottle: I had this one on Xmas Eve. It pours a dark brown, ruby tinged color. There was a decent sized beige head on it. A fairly decent amount of lacing. A fair amount of malts to the nose, with some roastiness and spiciness. The taste is quite good. Fairly full bodied with a hint of roastiness to the strong malts. Not real sweet, but nicely balanced. Some fruits coming through also. An excellent holiday beer.

Bottle, 75cl. Pours a nice, dark brown body with a dense, but small, beige head. Nice lacings as well. Sweetness and dried fruits dominates the aroma, but there’s also a little spicy note and some alcohol. It is not very complex, yet it is a beer that smells so delicious that it can be sniffed for hours. Flavorwise it is much the same, quite sweet and warming, with dried fruits and a bit more pronounced spicyness than in the aroma. Full-body and a pleasant carbonation. It’s a bit soapy in the mouth, hence my lower rating on flavor. There’s a herbal bitter-note in the finish, as well as dried fruits and brown sugar. A really lovely, warming beer, well suited for the cold season, and not to forget, Christmas. Pity it’s so expensive in Norway, and so hard to get. (071224)

Wow ... this is a beer to be savored. This was almost overwhelming to my senses. The flavors are so dynamic and intense. The head was weak but the color was majestic, a coppery reddish brown. Flavors included caramel and citrus, but strong alcohol pushed it over the top. A winter warmer for sure.

750 ml bottle- Will’s house. 2006 vintage. One of the most beautiful beers I’ve poured- perfect head of creamy brown foam resting atop the red/black/brown liquid. Lacing and a slight head were present the entire time. Great mouthfeel with substantial carbonation. Taste was interesting, with the thyme dominating the middle. Up-front was sweet and caramel, finish was some hops and citrus from the orange peel. But....the thyme was a bit more intrusive than I cared for, always kept you wondering exactly what it was there for. Overall it was interesting and complex.