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Dried blood brownish red with a medium soft-looking foamy cap that sits briefly leaving behind a big collar and thin skim. Lacing is minimal in big blobby things.

Aroma is dry and delicately soft with a semi-yielding date, prune, dark purple grapey fruitish backlay.

Taste is short, rounded in a softly darkened fruityness of red apple, purple grape, and lesser tarting fruity sugars. A bit sharp on the buds with a big carbonation hump in the middle. Finish is light and airy with a yeasty woodish dryness with a bit of fruit pits and skins trying to grab a bit of interest.

Feel is OK, the short-lived flavors don't help anything as it has a seemingly light/medium body with that hump of carbonation in the middle totally taking away what could be a fairly smooth ride.

Drinkability is a little less then the norm for a Belgian Dark ale. Quite plain, but seems like the effort is there and comes across well made, just not much going on with this one.

Served In: Goblet

750ml
Binnys Orland

Best before 2009

McChouffe pours a crimson red with glowing ruby highlights when held to the light. This beer is surprisingly clear but it has been sitting in the fridge for awhile now so I'm sure the yeast has dropped. A one finger ecru head formed on a rather aggressive pour and faded to a skimming pretty quickly.

Interesting aromas come from this beer. Reminiscent of a scotch ale, of course I guess that's where the name came from. Big dark bread doughy malts along the lines of pumpernickle with that nice spiciness. It's hard to pull things out because the aroma isn't all that pronounced. After a quick swirl I do pick up a lactic quality of cream and a touch of peat. A little spicy yeastiness fades in and out in the background.

The flavor is more along the lines of a Belgian than the nose would suggest. Doughy malts are the base for this brew. On top of this dominant base I get hints of powdery and spicy yeast. Spicy warm alcohol and a hint of copper on the finish. The flavors just don't seem to be enough.

Medium bodied with an incredibly airy smooth feel on as it hits the tongue. Goes down smooth.

Good flavor although a little weak helps this one go down pretty easy.

This would be an excellent brew if the flavors were a little more bold. Mcchouffe is a hybrid Scotch/Abbey ale but the flavors are much weaker than what I'd expect from either of those styles.

Reviewed: 9/23/07

Served In: Tulip