N’Ice Chouffe

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

Ruby berries riding bubble rockets...Dry thyme raining on port wine lakes...Barley winish caramel malt and herbal hop bitterness sign off this hefty winter celebration...This ages beautifully, as was proved recently by a 3-year-old 2004 bottle.

Tap at Blind Tiger. Deep dark reddish garnet colour, creamy white head. The aroma is awesome. Loaded with rich toasted plums, toffee and rich sweet stone fruit. Very spicy and sweet with lots of clove, orange, dark burnt sugar, brown sugar and even a bit of vanilla and chocolate. So complex and so inviting. The palate is very soft and wheaty wit a silken quality that just lets the brew coat the tongue in silken deliciousness. Sweet dates, toasted sugar and lots of mintiness on the back. This stuff is really tasty. Warming lets the caramelly and plummy malts really come into harmony with the spicy yeast. Lightly peppery on the back. Man, I love this brewery.

Deep brown, almost close to black. Has an aroma consisting of bananas, alcohol, dark malts and some spices. Very stong flavor of alcohol consumes the mouth, though at the end of the drink and through the finish there is a pleasent roasted fruit and flower quality similar to a dubbel. Overall, quite strong, but very flavorful.

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)

On tap:. Dark red coloured with a decent medium lasting head. Lots of spiced in the aroma (seems like i""ve tasted coriander in all the beers tonight). Besides the coriander taste, this beer has a destinct taste of christmas. Theres cinnamon, green cardamom and cloves in the flavour. Has some sweetness in the palate.

Vintage 2004: A dark nutty brown body with glimmering ruby highlights capped by a thick, creamy tan head make this one good looking ale. The aroma is quite spicy, a rich caramel & toffee malt with orange zest, dark berries, and alcohol. Smooth but hot in the mouth, the flavor intensifies the malts, blends it tightly to the alcohol and fruits, and allows the spices to roam freely. The finish is sweet and hot. I like.

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Orange/amber color with a moderate light tan, lasting head. Spicy yeast, orange and malt aromas. Very herbal in flavors, with light white pepper, sage and thyme. Malt backs up the spiciness, along with a touch of dark sugar dryness. A bit young, maybe, but quite fulfilling now. Alcohol well hidden.

I just had to rerate this one. Has it been improved or did my taste change? I drank the newest version last weekend and it was great. Vanilla and little perfume aroma. Dark brown, creamy light brown head, very good lacing. Sweet and hoppy, bit of licorice, moderately full. Long finish with some hop bitterness and an alcohol burn.