N’Ice Chouffe

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

UPDATED: FEB 14, 2008 Dark raisen in color, creamy malt head. Smells of wine and sweet prunes. Tastes peppry, with notes of leather and fruit. Finishes clean with little after taste.

On Draught at Brouwers in Seattle. Highly recommended, possibly the best beer I’ve had all year. Aroma is dried fruit forward, followed by sweet malt and an excellent floral hop boquet. Beer is a vary dark brown with a strong amber undertone, slightly hazy, with a good off-white head that leaves excellent belgian lace on the glass. Flavor is malt forward, lots of carmel, tons of dried dark fruit and low hoppiness. Flavors blend together excellently with this complexity, no clashing here. Body is moderate, as well as the carbonation and feel; great creamy finish. Overall, a very complex beer that should wow anyone. It’s hard to put this much into one bottle and not find something standing out too much to object to. Well made.

Had this beer for Christmas Eve. Cloudy dary brown with amber tint and creamy head. Malty fruity aroma. Sweet malty flavors with dried fruits and spice flavors. Alcohol masked nicely.

UPDATED: MAR 29, 2009 This is the beer for winter! Full bodied and creamy, dark red-brown colored one with some delicious sediment in the body, a creamy tan head. Fruity and fine spicy-herbal thyme in the aroma, toasted grains. Complex body, fruity flavor with the herbal thyma again.

On tap, had this several times in winter @ Café Gollem. This is the stuff that makes you go through the storms of winter to a bar. Nice dark reddish/brown appearance, off white head. Aroma of dark fruits, brown sugar, some alcohol, some yeast. Flavour is just perfect, really smooth flavours of dark fruits, molasses, some spices, brown sugar. Soft alcohol finish. In general the alcohol is very well hidden. Soft palate, making this highly drinkable. Very, very N’Ice.

Limited Edition 2007. dark red ruby brown with a scant white head. Candy aroma with faint caramel. Medium effervescent mouth. Malty flavor with spices. Very complex, my favorite Christmas ale during a 9-beer tasting of various Belgian Christmas ales.

Bottle, 2008 Limited Edition. Dark, mahagony brown with shades of red and a robust off-white head laces nicely. Initial big malt and dark fruit aroma that subsides a little into a sweet, spicy haze. Crisp and sweet with more dark fruit in the whole taste experience. Finishes with dark fruit and bitter orange. Overall, well worth holding onto for a year, and no signs of oxidation at all in this bottle.

Delicious dark winter beer. Fantastic flavor. Slightly boozy mouth feel. Kinda dry and dusty, but doesn’t detract from the overall experience. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone