N’Ice Chouffe 2007
12 Feb
Name – N’Ice Choufee 2007
Country – Belgium
Type – Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Appearance – Pours a cola type brow with some red highlights. Bubbly tan head that is gone pretty quickly.
Smell – Very mellow apple, cherry, dark fruits.
Taste – The consistency was quite heavy. The flavors of apple and cherries is pungent and there is a speck of spice to it.
I had a 2008 bottle of this on Christmas day and just notice the 2007 bottles on the shelf last week so I picked it up. It says best if drank in 3 years so I’m right on the cusp of their recommendation. I could definitely tell a difference between the one extra year. This was very mellow. The spices were pretty much gone and the alcohol really didn’t stand out. It was a sipping beer but did border line taste like it was going to not be so pleasant if it waits any longer. Over all I enjoyed the 2008 bottle I had more. The flavors were more there as were the spices.
Overall Grade – B-
If it wasn’t stored well it could be a problem. It’s always a bit of a risk picking up a beer that’s older because you don’t know how it’s been kept.
Yes, very good point Mike. It has probably sat in the distributors warehouse for a good amount of time as well as shelves a few times.