Blonde d'Achouffe

Name: Blonde d'Achouffe
Style: Belgian ale
ABV: 8.0%
Serving: 341ml bottle
Brewery: Les Brasseurs RJ
Location: Montréal, QC, Canada
Weblink: Blonde et Brun d'Achouffe

So... another of the booty snaffled on the weekend dans La Belle Province. Just to confuse things a little, this is a Belgian beer, brewed under licence in Montreal, with a Walloon dialect name. As if Quebequoise didn't have enough linguistic oddities of its own now they are importing les mots Belgique. Alors! (3-0 !!) I did have a couple of these the other night but wasn't really concentrating (something about being inundated with undergraduates...), although now I come to try it sober it is indeed a miracle that I woke up without a hangover the next morning... (4-0 !!) Just in case your Walloon isn't as polished as mine (I did once stop at a service station in Belgium, so I'm practically a native) the mascot is a pun on the town of Achouffe (where Brasserie d'Achouffe is based), as "une chouffe" is a gnome.

The beer pours a vibrant and surprisingly bright orange-yellow colour, with quite a cloudy body. Its head is initially voluminous and fluffy, with big open bubbles, but it fades away very quickly. Almost before I manage to put the glass down in fact. Considering the alcohol content this isn't really a surprise. (4-1... hmm) The aromas are dominated by a rich, honey-like scent, underlain by a classically Belgian banana-and-orange fruitiness and a subtle hint of spice. As the smells die away you are left with a slight tingling inside your nostrils... reckon there's some alcohol in there! Trying it cold the other night it didn't seem much special, but warmed up a touch it really opens out. In the mouth the spiciness really kicks in, with a strident clove and coriander seed bouquet warmed by the alcohol's black pepper notes. This is supported by banana and toffee flavours, which evolve into a rich butterscotch as the beer slips toward the back of your mouth. This lingers for 30 seconds or so after you swallow, but is unfortunately rapidly replaced by a harsh, hard liquor-like, alcohol residue. This is a shame as the beer really doesn't deserve it. Still, as long as you keep sipping you'll never notice...

All in all a very nice, mouth-filling beer of distinctly Belgian heritage. The notes I have found online seem to suggest that this offering isn't up to the standard of the European-brewed original, but if that is the case then I really need to get a hold of one of those as La Chouffe should be amazing. (4-2... better stop writing before the Penguins claw all four goals back!)

Update: 5-2 !!