N’Ice Chouffe

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

Bottle, 75cl. Reddish brown colour with a large tan head. Sweet, yeasty & spicy aroma. Spicy taste with a warming alcohol level. Good.

cask from the rake. Deep ruby w/ thin off white head. Aroma of dried fruits, cherries, orange zest and hops. Taste of orange, roasted malt and yeast. Long hoppy finish with sublte spice and sweet malts. Good mouthfeel - full bodied with a smooth carbonation. Top chouffe!

750ml bottle 2006 edition. Pours a dark red tinged brown, with a fizzy one finger head that fades quickly to a thin swirling cap and ring. The lacing is very thin, and slides away almost immediately. Smell; the aroma is pretty subdued, so it’s a bit hard to pick anything out at first. The first aroma I can pick out once this warms up some, is the curacao. Then some of the sweet caramel malts, followed by the spices. Taste; the flavor is definitely more pronounced the the smell was. Very spicy up front, with a flavor I’m having a hard time figuring out, that must be the thyme. The curacao makes it’s presence felt with a bit of a bitter orange flavor, and then this finishes with some caramel and chocolate. Surprisingly the alcohhol does not show itself at all in the flavor. It’s only noticeable in the warming of my belly, and the slight difficulty I’m having in focusing with the bottle almost now finished Now that’s a different animal. This is like no other beer that I’ve had, and definitely one for a cold night, but overall this one is a bit overly spiced for my tastes. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with a an almost dangerous drinkability with the 10% abv being nearly undetectable.

Hazy brown hue, with a fluffy beige head, leaving laces, yeasty, spicy nose of herbal thym, with a subtle provençal herb notes, with a fruity raisiny, an orangeish-curaçao accent, some toasted malts, sweet candy sugar, and a coriander aroma follows through a full-bodied palate with a crisp, yeasty, toasted malt character, with candy brown sugar, with some herbs spiciness, maybe thym, sweet curaçao, with a raisiny and plummy fruitiness, within a comforting warmthness mouthfeel from his 10%, leading towards a malty, fruity finish.

This 1996 green bottled brew marked #1230 from a bottle shop poured a small sized head of medium sized clear colored bubbles that were quickly diminishing and left behind a hazy with fine particulate no visible carbonation dark brown colored body and a poor lacing. The aroma was vinous brown malt and dark malt. The flat mouth feel was weakly tingly at the start and at the finish. The flavor contained notes of vinous and brown malt. A bit past its primne I suspect.

This big-shouldered brew was very pleasantly shared with my son-in-law as we sampled Costa Rican ceviches. (Probably not the greatest pairing, but still fun!) Big alcohol, deeply roasted malts, dried fruits, citrusy hints, coriander, yeasty spiciness, brown sugar, and plums. Really well made and exuding quality. This is a very fine winter warmer.

750 bottle from 2005, and more delicious than ever. I’m a big fan of Brasserie Chouffe beers, but the winter seasonal may be the best. Brownish red with major froth, this one is very complex with candied malts leading the way for a rich bouquet of spice, yeast, and mild fruits. A superb beer that I always enjoy.

In the 750 mL bottle from Beertopia. Pours a dark brown color with strong red highlights and a thick durable beige head of tiny bubbles. Mildly carbonated body and beautiful lacing remain. Aroma is earthy and orange coriander. Flavor is peppery on the tip of the tongue and the mouth is overcome by a giant wave of raising/plum excitement. Mild, but lingering hop spiciness remains long after the swallow. Plenty of orange flavors reside as well.