N’Ice Chouffe

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

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 ;-)

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!

750 ml bottle. Bottle labeled as Limited Edition 2005. Pours copper in color with brown head. Sweet malty and hoppy aroma. Taste is of yeast and malt with a dry finish.

Bottle/750 - Poured a very dark amber in color with a small tan head. Quite a bit of "stuff" floating in the beer. No lacing from the head. Aroma is spicy with plenty of fruity esters and little evidence of the hops. Flavor is flavor is *very* fruity with a heavy amount of "berriness", almost to the point that you would suspect them adding a bit of cherry juice. Hops add some bitterness to balance. I liked this one...

had on tap. fairly good stuff, sweet kinda candy cane flavour, with a hint of malts. Was very easy drinking too, it was gone before i knew it.

1/2/03: bottle. nice thick rocky head with left over lacing. deep red copper colour. small hints of orange in the nose with some yeast. malty flavor, with an ever so slight after taste of granulated sugar (the sugar taste is no longer evident after the beer warms.) extra appearance pts for cute label. 2002 vintage.

Bottle 75cl BB end 2009
Surprisingly dusty aroma. Some fresh dark fruits comes through together with an undefined spicy character. Someone wrote about thyme, and I can agree with that. Sparkling palate almost as if they’ve used champagne yeast or something similar. Very rich spicy taste full of alcohol. Schnapps warning! Uncharacteristicly unsweet for beer of this strength and recent vintage. Makes me almost suspect a relabel of an old vintage... Ginger, thyme and other spices are present in the alcohol infested beverage. Hard to decide if this is a good one or OTT. After warming up a bit a distinctive worn leather taste appears and the sweetness develops a bit. A big Belgian beer in a big bottle that developes over time. Must be a good thing.

75 cL bottle at Poechenellekelder. Nice, tall, tan head atop the dark brown beer. Caramelized dark fruits in the aromatics, some spices. Quite sweet, as a light dose of bitterness kicks in with the medium carbonation and touch of rum. Quite tasty and warming, like a Christmas beer ought to be. Got one aging in my cellar, I wonder if it will survive the holidays.