Mc Chouffe

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

Serve in Thistle

Dark brown/amber color, sweet malty/nutty aroma... flavor was spicy, nutty, malty...maybe even slightly hoppy (unexpectedly so). The alcohol wasn’t all that well-hidden, which isn’t necessarily a negative aspect for me...overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable beer.

More Belgian than Scotch... A bit too much hoppiness for my happiness. Nice strength sets up a firm and reasonably drinkable beer--a nice change of pace from the traditional tripel. But only on occasion.

Bottle shared by hallinghansen. Brown colour with a superb creamy light beige head. Fruity aroma with dark sugar and lots of malt. Creamy body. Great taste of spices, dark candy sugar and yeast.

Spicey caramel aroma, sour, earthy, strawberries and cream. Pours dark brown with a creamy tan head. Fruity, caramel, hints or sour fruit, very smooth.

Had on draft-poured into a Chimay Goblet to a dark amber color.Hints of cocoa,malt and light chocolate.I liked this one.

Dark brown colour, full foamy beige head, full one, caramel, hops, sweets like candy, only wrong thing is: there is only a 75cl bottle to buy.

UPDATED: OCT 15, 2007 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.

Bottle: Reddish brown colored pour with medium sized head. Sweet, toffee, raisin aroma. Yeasty, sweet, earthy, fruity finish. I enjoyed this and would definitely pick a couple 750’s.