N’Ice Chouffe

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

Mahogany leather cloured ale with off-white head. Semi sweet spiced aroma with yeast . Orange peels and coriander, with smooth alcohol. Nice balance of spices and alcohol. Nov. 28 2004 at MartinT.

2006 bottle. Head is initially large, frothy, light brown, mostly lasting. Body is hazy dark orange-brown, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (caramel, cookie), lightly to moderately yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of clove, raisin, orange peel, toffee, brown sugar, alcohol. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, moderately alcoholic. One of my fave winter/xmas brews. Rich and delightful.

Draft at Sct Clemens. Fantastic beer. Wonderfull head and colour. Powerfull anis aroma, lots of flavorpower, here is everything. Bottle version: 8-4-8-4-15= 3.9

750 ml bottle, shared with MartinT, Rastacouere, and Simon_Patrice. Very dark brown, nearly opaque, medium to large head. Potent, pungeant barnyardy-spicy (thyme) nose. Medium sweetness, lightly acidic, thyme and orange flavors, very well-balanced, light and effervescent and drinkable. Wonderful.

Alcohol interferes with aroma -meaning, I guess, that I don’t detect anything strongly. Dark ruby brown color. Flavor is malt, accompanied by unassignable fruit. A bit sweet, but that’s expected. The malt overpowers the hops at the finish. Very drinkable, but perhaps a bit of citrus would balance things.

Hard to believe I had not tried this one before. From a 2007 bottle sampled in late 2008. The body was dark coppery brown with a light yellowish khaki head. The smell is herbal with some bread and wood. The taste has some herbal thyme and is dry. There is also some wood and orange peels. I was not a fan of this really dry number.

Bread-like dough, bitter orange and spices in the sugary aroma with some pine-like hops also notable. Opaque brown-copper with decent off-white/tan head that recedes to partial cover. Spicy and very sweet flavour with some acidity in the finish that takes the edge off. Lasting bitter-orange aftertaste. Complex and intriguing, subtle, lasting flavours. Very soft in the mouth but carbonation is engaging. Alcohol not at all apparent except for a slight warming. Bottle enjoyed with beerbuzzmontreal, Lubiere, MartinT, Rastacouere and SimonB.

Rerate, 2004 bottle and served in a La Chouffe tulip: Pretty much the same as before but the taste seem to be more in conjunction and developed, so I increased the Flavor score to 9.-------- review, 2002: Hazy reddish amber hue with big off-white head and good lace. Aroma hinted of thyme, coriander, orange peel, yeast, and malt. Spicy and malty base taste with a minor bitter finish. Dusty and dry yeast tone in the background. Smooth and lush, creamy mouthfeel. Minor alcohol bite towards the completion of tasting. This is a real nice holiday brew, recommended.