Houblon Chouffe

Brewery: Brasserie d'Achouffe

Supplier: Beers of Europe

An unfiltered Belgian IPA from the brewery commonly known as La Chouffe, named for its Gnome mascot. It uses three different types of hops and is re-fermented in the bottle as well. I served this straight out of the fridge.

Appearance: A slightly opaque orange straw colour with a thick, quite long lasting head. There is a large but steady stream of bubbles.

Aroma: Typical belgian base but with lots of lemon rind and peach hop notes (lemon rind notes may come from the yeast as well).

Flavour: Corny Belgian malts at first, followed by a rich malt and hop mixture that is quite harmonious. Then the alcohol wave hits you, you can tell it has a high percentage. Belgian fruity esters come through but on the fresher side, coupled with fresh white grapes.

Body: Chewy. The bubbles seem sharp on the front but then are fine on the way down, a good carbonation. 

Aftertaste: Still getting that Belgian malt note but in a much richer form; coupled with a strong puckering bitterness, but on the pleasant side. Hints of peach in it.

Overall: Therefore this gets a rating of 8, super refreshing and nearly a 9, great for spring. whilst some parts of Belgian styles that I don't like (just because of personal taste) come through it is still very enjoyable, and the best example of a Belgian IPA as it marries the two styles perfectly (rather than having one with the hint of another). If these flavours had been to my taste I could see this getting a much higher score.

Price Range: £3.29 for a 330ml bottle, a good price but you wouldn't want many of them; maybe one in
a month.

Food Pairings: A very unique beer and hard to pair. I wanted to go with fish but the flavours are too strong and would over power the taste; so I would have to go with shellfish like langoustine (or Nephrops norvegicus as we learnt in my Science class when we dissected them...).