RJ Brune dAchouffe

Brewed by Brasseurs RJ
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Montreal, Canada

Bottle shared with biegaman, Hogtown Harry and Blankboy, Harry’s bottle. Hazy orange/brown, small white head. Funky fruit and yeast in aroma, a little spice. Sweet taste, very fruity. Malt, sweetness and tangy hops form a decent combination for me. Not bad, I think I liked it more than some at the table. Certainly not in the league of Choufee, but an honourable attempt.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, biegaman & tupalev -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a very cloudy copper-brown with a small diminishing off-white head. Aroma of sweet malt, Belgian yeast, spices, grain and some sourness. Somewhat watery flavour starts mild with sweet malt and a light sourness and finishes with an alcoholic/spicey harshness -- maybe some metal in there too. Medium bodied. I found this simply O.K.

Bottle (650ml). Shared with biegaman, blankboy and tupalev, my bottle. Slightly hazy burnt copper, smallish off-white fizzy head. Slightly sour grainy sweet malt aroma, pleasant sweet spice on warming, almost like buckwheat honey - sourness fades. Taste - once warmed - is faintly sour, almost kola-nut sweetness, slightly harsh alcohol in the finish. Average body, sticky, slightly boozy mouthfeel, light carbonation - not bad.

More of a Belgian amber than a dark Belgian. Minimal head. Aroma like a sweet unspiced BW. Flavour is strong caramel and without the typical Belgian characteristics.

660ml bottle. Pretty spicy aroma, brown color with as medium lasting head. Flavor is strong but the 8.5% is well hidden with the spices. Taste got better as the beer got warm. Oily texture.

A few years ago this was a spicy beer, I preferred it a lot back then, gone seem to be the spices. Now: Clear copper, almost no head. Candy/caramel aroma. Sweet candy and malt caramel taste. Very sweet beer (too sweet for my taste). Very limited hops & yeast presence. As it warms up, the sweet candy turns into generic sweet caramel, I prefer it fridge-cold. Medium body, appropriate carbonation. 8.5% partially hidden. The Blonde d’Achouffe is a locally brewed approximation of the classic La Chouffe. I hope this Brune d’Achouffe is not supposed to be an approximation of the Mc Chouffe. If so, this imitation is as lame as Steve Martin doing Peter Stellers.

Cloudy copper color, with tan-colored head, but falls quickly, caramelized malt, toasty malt, yeasty note in the nose with a spicy accent of nutmeg with a fruity aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with some toasted and caramalized malts, with a brown sugar, a subtle spicy coriander, with a nutmeg edge, and a faintly fruity flavors of raisins, dates, prunes, leading towards an alcoholic malty, thin hop bitterness finish.

Bottle sample courtesy of MDS, tasted at HYDE’s tasting last month. Mahogony pour, with a thin beige ring of head present. Prunes, sugar plums, raisins, and wood in the nose. Brown sugar flavours mixed with alcohol, with lingering prune/malt flavours. Smooth, ABV not detected. Good. Thanks Mikey!