N’Ice Chouffe

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

Tap, Kulminator Antwerpen. Ruby red, excellent lasting pale beige head and gentle condition. Big fruity spicy aromas with hints of caramel and roast barley. Sweet and spicy in the mouth with corriander and cinnamon apparent and a gentle distant hoppiness. Slightly sweet and syrupy aftertaste with a lingering roasted note.

Bottled in 1999. Cloudy brown beer w. insignificant head. Very perfumy, dry, fruity aroma w. a soapy (not bad) quality. Complex flavors, herbal - violets, rose, anise, distinct alcohol taste, particularly at fridge temps. Fruity, nice mouthfeel - Brasserie d’Achouffe is underrated - this is an excellent brewery. Finish tends toward sweet, syrupy, but a citrus note prevents it from being cloying. Had this chilled w. outside temps 85F, and it was refreshing and bracing - not just a winter beer, despite the label.

What a fine product those at Chouffe consistantly put out. Pours very dark brown / garnet with a large rocky tan head that had good lacing. The aroma has lots of spice, dark earthy malt, Belgium yeast and creamy sweetness. Medium / full body that is smooth and slick with a good amount of carbonation that starts of soft and ends sharp. The taste begins with full rich dark caramel malt with some gentle spices, light sweetness, some dark fruits and lots of Belgium earthy funk. The finish brings out lots of spiciness (hops?), then the thyme becomes apparent with some pepper aspects as well. Very enjoyable and it hides the 10% very well.

Tis the season eh! Strong and fruity with prominent plum notes. This brew is all that. It takes everything it means to be a Belgian ale, and pushes it one step further. Hyper effervescence, plummy sweetness and a long fruity finish support this heavy heady brew. A towering reddish tan head floats on this dark mahogany brew. The aroma is full of clove and other spices and reminds one of sugared plums.

750 ml bottle, Habersham Beverage Warehouse, Savannah, Ga. Pours a chestnut brown with a frothy, medium thick khaki colored pour. Aroma has sweet baked bread notes to it with a proncounced fruitiness - dates most likely. Flavor has some baked brown bread notes with some brown sugar, dates and a little bit of port in there. Decent, thick mouthfeel, and the 10%ABV is hidden rather well. An excellent winter warmer.

A dark brown beer with a fine light brown head. It has a very powerful sweet fruity aroma. The flavor is also powerful, a little sour, but with a nice sweet malt taste. A really good beer - that I definatly want to try again. The one I had tonight I had bought at the brewery and imported myself.

Big carbonation on an initially pretty head that quickly fades down. A very typical aroma of a BSA, with coriander and mild malts. A dry beer, with a full mouthfeel and a bunch of carbonation - a little too much in my opinion. But overall, this is a nice wintery beer.

2001 edition: Brick red color with a nice frothy head, lacing down the glass. Musty attic, horse blanket, and cherries in the nose. Caramel with a cherry blast in the mouth, not too sweet though. I enjoyed this one a lot. Bring on the 2002 edition next!