Fast disappearing head, whitish; orange-amber beer. Sweet-orange, sucade or sugar-preserved oranges in the nose. In the taste, the thyme is there! Betraying itself by a menthol-sparadrap flavour, imposed on a malty underground, way less sweet than the nose. Even when warming up, gives more, fruity sweetness. Rather sparkling-spritzy beer; light to medium bodied. Surprising, elegant beer. Very little USA about it, but is isn’t the usual Chouffe style neither.

Draught tulip at Monk’s Café on 1/19/07
Copper-blonde body is thoroughly carbonated, with light hay and rust tints and a white/off-white head that is quite dense, well-retained and large, similar to the original. Lacing is not nearly as prominent and perhaps the head isnt retained quite as well, but it’s close enough and probably different due to non-brewing factors (glassware, freshness, keg pressure, etc...). Clarity is quite high, with only a very slight touch of haziness.
Sweet pale malt sugars, producing notes of honey and vanilla cream, brushed by clean, Belgian yeast nuances, certainly recall images of the original, though I think this one seems a little less refined. A touch more graininess and some light sharpness (hop derived or alcohol derived?). Dry hay and straw-like notes build up towards the finish, with hints of light corn or powdered sugariness. It’s a fairly strong aroma, as is La Chouffe, but like the original, there dosent seem to be much more than some pale malt sweetness, bits of dough/hay/straw and light esters.
Simple, sweet flavor contains a round table sugar and honey mix that seems almost gooey at first, but is quickly broken apart by modestly sharp yeast esters and light acidity. Vanilla, a touch of buttercream (not diacetyl) and light corn sugar are all notable, with a light sweaty/graininess from the malt husks. A good amount of carbonation is present, but it’s mostly tight and engaging like the original (though not quite to the same level). Yep, a very well done clone of the original, showing some American qualities as you’d expect (more graininess, bit more assertive all around, more clean). So if you like La Chouffe, you should like this. I don’t like La Chouffe however...

Hazy amber body with a small creamy white head. Sweet caramel aroma. Sweet caramel flavor with some hints of candi sugar.

Tap at Mugs Belgian Blast - cloudy brownish pour, with an enormous head - semi-musty/cobweb/damp earth aroma, with some peppery hints and earthy, stale hops - semi-dry, with only a tiny bit of the candi sugar coming through - the thyme is there, but not very evident - the flavor is a bit odd, it has the biscuity malt profile and stale hop character of an english bitter, coupled with the belgian-esque qualities - it doesn’t really come together well, IMHO.