Brasserie D'Achouffe McChouffe (6/10)

McChouffe as poured at The Winking Lizard Tavern

The official Brasserie D'Achouffe web site describe McChouffe as "an unfiltered brown beer which is refermented both in the bottle and in barrels. Its fruity bouquet conceals a hint of bitterness."

It pours a dark brown with a two-finger-thick beige head of medium coarseness that lingers a while.  It gradually reincorporates into the beer.

McChouffe has a malty aroma with a hint of the usual Belgian spice and dark fruit elements.

The flavor of the beer is unusual.  It is very dry like a red wine.  There is an earthy and slightly bitter component as well. Some Belgian spice gets through.

Although Beer Advocate (where it gets an 89/100) and Rate Beer (96/100) disagree with my rating of 6 out of 10 for this beer, they do agree that this beer isn't as good as La Chouffe that I reviewed last week.

The bottled version of this beer is something you don't routinely see on the shelves in Columbus beer stores.  I often see it at Weiland's Gourmet Market and sometimes at other places.  You'll find this brewery's products more consistently at The Winking Lizard than at most retail shops I've visited.