Mc Chouffe

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

750 ml bottle. Pours light brown with a tan quickly disapearing head. Aromas of molassas and citrus. Malty flavors. Very Good.

It’s been a considerable gap in time since my last Chouffe, the La Chouffe. In fact, I think it’s been approximately one year or more, and for the whole time I’ve had a hankering for another fun-to-say Chouffe beer. Problem was I couldn’t remember which Chouffe it was I had. It’s easy to confuse monosyllabic prefixes like “Mc” and “La” but one day I finally reminded myself to check on Ratebeer and lo I once again had clarity of mind, and with lightness of foot I dashed to Tony B’s to grab the other bottle in the standard duet, the Scotch style McChouffe. The familiar, heartwarming gnome is found here too, gently tending to something in the soil, wearing a pleated kilt and fancy boots. Even though he’s supposed to be a Belgian I see something distinctly Scottish in him. Either way, his ruddy cheeks and sagacious eyes (and a fairly aquiline beard) entreat a sampling of what we assume is the beer he’s sacrificing his gnomish posture to work so hard on. The pour is a standard affair, producing a comforting dry soil brown head, composed of a nice collection of small, medium and large bubbles. The body of the beer is more sanguine, both in passion and color, burning with an amber shade of red. Within this crimson pool is a maelstrom of carbonation – bubbles crashing to and fro belie the tranquil surface. This submerged storm pushes up great whorls and eddies of aroma, pressing skyward with deep, low, sugary sassafras. A little ginger clears up the hazy sugary smog with its sparkling culinary probity, while cheap cocoa powder and fig, pipe tobacco, peat and copious wet moss try to tackle it down. All of these flavors make up exquisite, attractive treats for the tongue, but somehow altogether they remind me of a blend of Coca-cola and Pepsi. It’s something of a shock to bring a reputed Belgian beer to your nose and get a whiff of that ballpark classic, but it’s only one part of the beer. Besides, Coke smells good. Finally, once the main smells subside with a bit of distracted story telling, a tiny peep of vanilla crawls out from its hidden burrow and weaves itself into the after-smell, alongside some Welch’s grape juice. In its total form it smells a lot like St. Peter’s in Vatican City, which I blame on my delirious sensory memory. The taste matches the aroma with the contemporary corporate colossi carbonated Cokes, and fancied up a bit with some dried fig, red wine, hops, sweet coffee and vanilla. There is also a taste like mixed berries (blueberry, blackberry, raspberry) minus all the sugars, but retaining the pulp and bitter parts. The palate suits the McChouffe very well, being smooth yet bubbly, well balanced and somewhat reminiscent of spring water from a local town here called Manitou Springs. Yet, when I finish the glass and take a last, farewell glance at the McChouffe I’m reminded that this is a Scotch Ale, yet, besides the peat and moss in the aroma I find nothing Scottish about it. I can’t complain. His kilt and face are enough to convince me.

Re-rate 7/15/08: Draught. Dark brown with a medium beige head. Aroma of malt, caramel, some dark fruitiness, licorice hints and light spiciness. Sweet flavor with malt, caramel, dark fruits, some brown sugar and dark bread hints. Finishes spicy and alcoholic. Medium-bodied. Quite nice. 7/4/7/3/14=3.5

Bottle. Very dark red-brown color with an off-white head. A bit of sparkling. Aroma is malt sweetness, some carmel and spices. Flavor is sweet and spicy, with caramel and a very light bitterness. A medium to full body. The finish is soft sweetness with alcohol. 8/4/8/4/16=4

Pours a hazy brown color with off white head. Aroma is of fruit with banana, spice, coffee, and caramel. Taste is of dark fruit, raisin, slight vinuous. Slight alcohol warmth but quite enjoyable.

Pours dark, hazy, reddish-orangish with a mostly receding, wispy, foamy tan head. Considerable lacing. Aroma of phenolic apples, spice, bubble gum esters, tripping toffe covered pineapples. Taste is vinous, raisins, toffee, peat, earthy malt. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with a soft wispy touch and lush carbonation. Very elegant Belgian ale.

750ml bottle that I picked up in Belgium, with a best before 2008. Pours a cloudy, red tinged, dark brown with a two finger head that fades quickly to a thick cap, leaving behind a thick sheeting of lace behind. Smell; very nice dark fruit aromas with plums, dates and maybe a little raisins. There’s also some nice caramel, and toffee notes, and I’m also piking up a little coffee in here as well. Taste; the toffee and caramel are very evident in the flavor with the dark fruits with plums, dates and raisins filling out the middle. The finish has a very rich chocolate presence with a little bit of some coffee notes in there, and touches of yeast. This has a very unique flavor profile, that I’m really liking tonight. Mouthfeel/Drinkability; the mouthfeel is medium bodied with a very smooth but active carbonation, and the drinkability is just great. I’m having a hard time putting down my glass.

Aroma of caramel. Pours a dark brown with a fading head. Very smooth and carbonted and pleasant; somewhat heavy on the throat though. This is an interesting ale that I don’t know how to label. It aint a scotch ale, a brown ale or an abbey, but it’s definetly belgium; and that’s a good thing.

Pours a nice clear dark copper color, with a thick foamy tan head. Nice lacing. Very sweet and fruity aroma. Malty flavor, with fruit, yeast, and sweet bread. The flavor is good, but not as bold as the aroma suggests. Medium to full body, abundantly, yet softly, carbonated. A little bit of anise and alcohol in the finish - something like a mild zing of ouzo.