La Chouffe – Brasserie d’Achouffe

La Chouffe Golden Ale

This is my first Belgian tasting on the blog, and it’s a really good one. La Chouffe Golden Ale is categorized as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, and what this basically means is that it’s a pale ale with a much higher level of alcohol. It also means that it was fermented with a Belgian yeast strain, which (at least in my mind) is never bad thing. Belgian ales often have a very unique character not found in other styles, and most of the time the yeast strain used is the direct cause. This particular ale clocks in at 8% abv and those who have read my other posts (who are not beer enthusiasts) are probably wondering what the big deal is with all of these beers that are super high in alcohol. Well, let me tell you… in order to introduce intense flavor in a beer, you need to add additional malt/other forms of sugar/hops/spices etc. Many forms of sugar are fermentable, so basically, the more beer flavor you want in your beer – the more alcohol you introduce in the final product – at least in a very general sense. The trick that breweries face when creating a product with a high level of alcohol is skillfully incorporating the alcohol into the product such that it doesn’t taste like you’re drinking rubbing alcohol. I’ll cover proper brewing techniques another time.

La Chouffe pours a golden hazy orange with a nice frothy white head and aggressive carbonation, a Belgian trademark. The head recedes pretty quickly to a film that leaves good lacing right till the last sip. The aroma is relatively subtle and is of apples and pears, with some grassy malts and spice (pepper?). I love it already. It reminds me very much of Duvel, the Belgian Pale Ale that all others aspire to be. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The taste is similar to the aroma, but much more intense. Apples and pears dominate in the beginning, the palate is pretty dry and gives way to faint grassy malt, alcohol, and spice in the middle. The sweetness is evident now and it finishes off-dry. It’s hard to tell if the hops have something to do with the spiciness, or if it’s just the yeast. Probably a little of both. It has more residual sweetness than Duvel, making its drinkability suffer slightly in comparison. But overall I think this is a really solid beer, one of my favorites in the style (that I’ve tried).

For fun I think I’ll start giving each beer I’ve tasted a letter grade. I realize how silly this is, but I’ll try to justify my ratings as I give them. So… as far as Belgian pale ales are concerned, this one is great… not as great as Duvel, but great. I’m also a big fan of the style in general, so I’d give La Chouffe a solid A-.

– Jesse “The Belly” McGeachie