N’Ice Chouffe

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

UPDATED: JAN 22, 2009 On tap in Ghent. Pours dark copper brown with a beige head. Aroma’s of caramel, molasses and more molasses. Velvety silk texture. Very soft on the swallow. Good beer.

On draft at Brouwer’s. Pours a very dark bronze with a dense Belgian head. Aroma has dark fruits, brown sugar, black cherries and just a bit of citrus. Spices come through more in the flavor, giving it more of the holiday-ale feel. Great palate - not overcarbonated, very smooth. Great.

Pours a deep red-orange amber, capped with a thick creamy tan coloured head that leaves incredibly thick lace down the glass. One must fight through the foam to get at the aroma underneath! This beer is big on sweet sugary caramel malt, with cooked apples, orange brandy, yeast, and subtle spices part of the complex picture. The finish is a little boozy and warm, and surprisingly bitter.

Draught at BTAH, into tulip. Pours cloudy brown, somewhere between the colors of dark and milk chocolate, with a full, fluffy, 2 finger off-white head. Some wispy lacing at the top of the glass. Aroma is breaady, yeasty, slight sweet, bit of alcohol. Taste is caramelized brown sugar and a big spicy yeastiness, some roasty bread crust, moving to a full, rich bready, spicy character, with sweet figs in there also. Spicy alcohol makes itself felt also. Finishes with a sweet spiciness - notes of cinnamon, candied figs in the finish. Mouthfeel is soft and lush, softly carbonated, creamy, light but feel. Word class beer, one of my winter favorites.

Crushed with Jakebra. Highly carbonated is light and tickling on the tongue, and I like to be tickled. Lots and lots of dark, sweet fruits in this. A absolute pleasure to drink, and that ABV is marvelous and obvious after a few sips.

Sample @ BBF ’08, Boston. Pours a deep brown with an off-white head. Aroma is malt, dark fruit, and a bit of yeast detectable as well. Flavor is dark fruit and yeast, dissolving into malt and an alcohol burn at the end. The beer was very lively and maintained a great characteristic throughout. Excellent.

27.09.2008, 0,75l Bottle. BB 09.08.2010. The colour is dark brown, maybe a little clody. Aroma is fruit and malt. The beer is a little to lively carbonated. Body is full and the beer is rich. The strong alcohol gives the beer a warm atertaste.

Green bottle, 75 cl, best before 05/09/2009, savoured on September 20 2008; eye: brown with golden caramel reflections, hazy, no effervescence, good creamy beige head that remains; nose: malt, caramel, candied fruits, alcohol, slight cigar, light fruity, molasses, yeast; mouth: malt, caramel, candied fruits, alcohol, slight cigar, slight spices, slight fruity, molasses, slight liquorice, yeast, finale in caramelized malt with a good presence of nicely warming alcohol, medium-full body, tingly in the back of the throat, mildly sweet, slightly bitter, silky and creamy texture, below-average carbonation; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille verte, 75 cl, meilleure avant 05/09/2009, savourée le 20 septembre 2008; œil : brune avec des reflets caramel doré, voilée, pas d’effervescence, bonne mousse beige crémeuse qui demeure pendant la dégustation; nez : malt, caramel, fruits confits, alcool, très léger cigare, léger fruité, mélasse, levure; bouche : malt, caramel, fruits confits, alcool, très léger cigare, très léger épices, léger fruité, mélasse, léger réglisse, levure, finale en malt caramélisé avec une bonne présence d’alcool réconfortant, corps moyen-corsé, pétillement en arrière-gorge, moyennement sucrée, très légèrement amère, texture soyeuse et crémeuse, carbonatation sous la moyenne; en résumé : bien aimé