I
was lucky enough to make it to the A’Chouffe Brewery night at the
Gingerman recently. As I have never tried the A’Chouffe beers and they
are all highly rated Belgian beers I was looking forward to getting to
try them. The Gingerman had the La Chouffe and Mc Chouffe as the
selections for the night and both of them were suberb.
La Chouffe The
La Chouffe was a strong Golden Ale in the vein of Duvel that came with a
fluffy white head and plenty of belgian yeast notes in the aroma. This
was a great tasting beer that was herbal and spicy while being very
well balanced and highly drinkable. This is their flagship beer and it
was very tasty. I will need to revisit this one again.
Mc Chouffe
The McChouffe was touted as a Belgian Scotch Ale and was the obvious
darker beer of the night. It came with a fluffy tan head and more
Belgian yeast notes in the aroma with some sweet malts as well. It was
much maltier than the La Chouffe with hints of toffee and dark fruits
with the signature Belgian yeast notes as well. Another well balanced
and drinkable beer that I will need to try again.
In
addition to the beers we got to take home the glasses, some cool Gnome
hats, and keychains. They also raffled off a A’Chouffe Gnome Statue....
and the beer gods must have been shining on me because I won. Now I
am the proud owner of an A’Chouffe Gnome. Not sure what I am going to
do with it yet, but my wife wants to make him a garden gnome. Maybe he can be the new Shelf Elf?
The Gnomegang is the final beer from my Christmas gift pack. It’s a collaboration beer between Ommegang and Brasserie d’Achouffe. I still have yet to try a d’Achouffe beer so this was my first, although not technically fully theirs. The Gnomegang was a Belgian Golden Ale in the same vein as Duvel. It poured a golden color with a generous fizzy head. There was plenty of sweet malts in the aroma balance by their trademark yeasts. The taste was bright and sweet with a hint of honey and plenty of that farmhouse flavor. I was really digging this one and was taking it down quickly. It hides its high alcohol content well and maintains its excellence as it warms. The Gnomegang may have been the best beer of the bunch and that is saying a lot. All of the Ommegang beers set very high standards and should be highly sought after.
PranQster is a Belgian Style Golden Ale and another fantastic offering from North Coast. These guys really have their act together as I struggle to find a beer of theirs I do not like. It’s a Belgian Style so right off the bat it was going to be hard to disappoint. It poured a honey gold color with a nice head and that signature Belgian yeast aroma. The taste was of sweet malt and a slight citrus tang with the Belgian yeast clove and banana. The PranQster was a delicious beer that satisfied all my Belgian beer tastes. I highly recommend it for anyone with a love for Belgian style beers.
