N’Ice Chouffe

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle, Rainhall Drinks Co, Barnoldswixk. Poured a good lookin’ dark ruby colour with a lively foamy beige head. Aroma was fruity with spice/herb notes. Interesting flavour with more different spices, caramel malt, thyme, curacao, licorice and quite a boozy kick. Pretty full bodied and creamy mouthfeel. Warming finish. An enjoyable one to share.

750 ml corked and caged [2003 vintage, fresh]: pours a deep, thick, murky cedar brown/red. . .Thick, light brown head that settles into snowy patches and floats a spicy berry aroma to my nose. Oaky flavours with dry leaves, coriander, strong Chouffe yeast, and some damp clay. There are some complex Belgian malt flavours up front, but the dry finish didn't sit too well with me. Still a very solid seasonal that I will enjoy again I am sure.

Sweet lightly roasty and fruity aroma. A rich brown color with excellent light-tan color head that thick and sits up causing a nice lacing. Moderately sweet and roasted flavor with light spiced notes and hints of walnut. Really a great winter beer.

10/01 0.75 l bottle courtesy of ogivlado, thanks a lot for sharing! It poured nice murky reddish brown body with medium sized compact head that, as such, lived quite long. Strong, pleasant and complex aroma - malty, yeasty and slightly alcoholic. Caramel, coffee and banana are obvious, its fruitiness shows cherry, plums, dark berries, notes of orange hops and some herbal spices. Flavor was also good and not less complicated, (sweet) fruity malts mixed with (bitter to sour) herbal hops and spices offers a heavenly palette for the palate. Despite all of that alcohol is quite felt, specially near the finish. Finish itself was long, pretty much reflecting the flavor in a sweeter way. Damn complex and really good, I’m looking forward to try the other gems of this brewery!

2003. Dark plum with a full, lacing head. The aroma is fruity, malty and alcoholic. Orange, cherry, alcohol, caramel, varied spices and candi sugar. A nice, full mouthfeel. The flavor is fairly strong with fruit, alcohol and spice (in that order) taking over. Who brews beer with Thyme? Probably a lot of people, but this is new to me, despite having a '99 bottle two years ago. Very interesting and really quite tasty. I wish they had another when I purchase so I could lay it down and experience aged N'Ice again.

2007, 750 mL bottle courtesy of Butters at the Barrios Nashville tasting. Poured a muddy brown color with ruby red highlights and a two finger off white head. The aroma was thyme, coriander and a sour note. The flavor was very spicy, with some warming alcohol, and a bit of metal on the tip of the tongue. The palate was average, with a very dry mouthfeel, average carbonation and a medium body.

1999 75cl. Dark ruby color with small particles. Thick head with good lace. Huge dark complex nose. Malt, plum, and sugars. The alcohol adds a nice warming touch. Deep, complex taste: chocolate, plums, and raisins. This is worth a look.

75 cl bottle, Sheffield, UK via The Devonshire Cat takeaway. Dark brown, brown sugar and clove aroma. Sweet, very little alcohol on the palate for the strength, more brown sugar on the finish. Slightly too sweet but perhaps necessary to mask the strength.