La Chouffe

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

Superb orangey, spicy monster of a beer. Always better on tap than in bottle and very consistent.

Drank this several times without realizing I hadn’t rated it. The beer was in top form last night, with the 75 cL unexpectedly appearing in the middle of a very short beer list at a touristy but solid Brussels restaurant, with the gnome showing me his goods before, during and after a big plate of stoemp with sausage and bacon. Pours a mostly translucent gold with a huge, white hat. Aroma of vanilla, honey, hops, spices. Initial honey sweetness with coriander (not too much, thankfully) is rescued by a bitter kick of hops--and that’s key for me, because it allows the beer to cut through and hold up to some spicy foods. Alcohol well hidden. Somewhat lively carbonation fizzes into somewhat dry mouthfeel and finish. Aftertaste is bittersweet.

IMO this beer is too wet and spiced on draft, but it’s just gorgeous from the bottle. And it’s great with food, which is one of the two things I like more than beer.

Bottle... thanks to my brother for this fine treat. Pours with an off white head, let’s off a strong aroma, and has a golden appearance. Wonderful full bodied taste that has a sugar and spice combo. Great beer!

750ml bottle-thanks to Joe/jwc215 pours a retaining thin off white head that laces and slightly hazy gold color. Aroma is (coriander?) spicy/grassy hops, grainy, yeast. Taste is sweet grain, (coriander?) spicy/grassy hops, grainy, yeast. Nice but not a session beer. Good carbonation.

From an old bottle chilling for about six months so it did seem a little off...Tangerine yellow hue with creamy off white head, excellent lacing, large pieces of sediment, spicey + hoppy smell, flat carbonation, some nector hop taste, a little bitter, a little watery but may have been because it was so old.

Btl at home 2-3 year old ... Light golden amber ... bright fruit nose on pouring but quickly disappears to spicy hop ... flat ... mellow fruit ... little banana ... some fruity hop... 3.0
Tk2 Bottle at Chris o’s…1988; slight hazy yellow,slight sour yeast, bready belgian hops light fruity.3.6

Thanks to redlight for sharing this with me. Poured a golden blonde color with a big thick white head. The aroma was of citrus fruits, wheat, and some sweet malts. The flavor was real fruity with some spice in there and a good amount of malt as well. You could taste the alcohol a little bit, but the flavor was really good. This has a lot going on with it. Had a good mouthfeel and finished smooth with a little hops in there. I really enjoyed this one.

Pours a golden yellow with a big foamy white head. Smells of citrus fruit, a little wheat, malts. The taste has a nice malt backbone to it, get a little alcohol in there, a little bit fruity, a little bitter on the finish. Pretty refreshing beer though, has nice complexity to it. Flavor is very nice here. Good brew.