Chouffe Lite 4,0%
(has 1 batch)

Lichtgeel bier met weinig schuim. Smaak is licht bitter hoppig en fruitig zoet met iets van banaan, wat graan en zoet citrus. OK maar niet echt bijzonder.

0.33 l bottle from 'AH XL' (Enschede), best before December 2024. A little hazy, golden with a medium large, frothy, slowly diminishing, white head. Sweetish, quite perfumy, gently fruity-floral and a bit yeasty-spicy aroma of coriander, orange peel, banana, vanilla and light clove. Gently sweet, moderately bitter, quite fruity-floral, slightly grassy and a bit yeasty-spicy aroma of coriander, vanilla, orange peel, banana, some fresh grass, traces of grains and light clove, followed by a short, gently bitter, slightly dry finish. Almost medium-bodied, smooth and gently effervescent mouthfeel, average carbonation. Tasty Blond, quite aromatic, especially regarding the low abv.

I guess after restyling the old La Chouffe and adding a non-alcoholic version to the range, Moortgat thought it relevant to throw in a variant literally halfway those two in terms of ABV, and recently came up with this 'light' version, which - with some good will - can be seen as an 'enkel', insofar as that term still means anything to anyone. Steinie bottle (with the familiar leprechaun on the crown cap) from the Delhaize supermarket in Lokeren. Irregular, medium thick, snow white, densely cobweb-lacing, coarse and large-bubbled, slowly dissipating and opening head on a crystal clear, yellowish straw blonde beer with a single string of sparkling rushing upwards in the middle. Aroma of ripe banana or even banana milkshake, wet towels, cold pasta, old potatoes, Maizena, withering grass, dry breakfast cereals, honey, sweetclover, Conference pear peel, damp straw, dry earth, old white bread, pond water. Spritzy onset, lots of stingy (over)carbonation with strong minerally effects, pronounced isoamylacetate (banana) with hints of ripe pear and apple peel left or right, sweetish but not overly so; slick and smooth sweetish-cereally and grainy pale malt middle, a tad glueish, with retronasal effects of old potatoes and damp kitchen towels but also residual sweetness on top. Some light clove-like phenols towards the end, along with a growing metallic 'zing' and weak grassy, floral hops, which in the end do prove to last for a while, drying the finish, but gently so. Something powdery and corn flour-like (Maizena) also lingers about. 'Light' for sure, but unfortunately not only in terms of ABV, but also of flavour; firstly, one could challenge the very 'raison d'être' of a light Chouffe, but secondly and more importantly, at least create something with a character of its own, a beer that deserves to exist in its own right (compare with Westmalle Tripel versus Westmalle Extra)... This feels like a watered down version of the original La Chouffe - which in itself has become considerably more slick and simple after the Moortgat takeover in my opinion - and that is probably not too far from the truth. Redundant, as expected, but doubtlessly drinkable to those who enjoy a boring, straightforward Belgian blonde every now and then...

Medium, stable, lightly yellowish head leaving some lace over (cold)hazed orangey-golden beer. Pale malts dominating the nose, with a spicy/herbal overtone; kitchen garden vegetables, even earthy. Spicy yeast, quit like the stronger Chouffe. Pale and partly toasted malts underneath; peppery, again kitchen garden. Quite spritzy, slick, dry finish. At 4%, this isn't your ordinary nablab. It has definitely something to say for itself, and might be a quite welcom summer thirstquencher.

Dorada limpia de no mucha espuma. Aroma lupulado floral con notas de levadura muy de ale belga. En boca es ligera, con buen punto de gas y un estupendo sabor con predominio de miel floral, y amargor moderado. Todo ello con solo 4 grados. Estupenda.

Fles 33cl thuis. Bloemig, yeasty, steenfruit, licht kruidig, citrustonen, zoetig, wat banaan, wat droog. (10-3-2024).

Bottle at home, golden beer, small head. Aroma is malty, bread, sweet, citrus. Taste is the same, citrus, bitter, bready malt, yeast. not too bad.

330ml bottle. Minimally milky, orange golden colour with average, frothy, slowly osteoporosing, minimally lacing, white head. Slightly grainy, pale and wheaty malty, yeasty spicy and herbal-floral hoppy aroma, hints of grey bread, bread crust, whiffs of caraway, brine, daisy. Taste is slightly watery, sweet-ish, wheaty malty, minimally doughy yeasty and yeasty spicy, minimally herbal-floral hoppy, hints of bead crust, a touch of daisy. Watery texture, smooth and soft palate, medium, mildly prickly carbonation. Light and refreshing, a minimally musty, doughy yeasty touch typical for low alcohol brews - decent.

33cl bottle from local supermarket in Brussels. F: medium, white, average retention. C: pale gold, light hazy. A: malty, citrus, apples, banana, spicy touch. T: light malty base and contains also rye malt, oats and glucose syrup! Banana, apples, weak bitterness, bready touch, spicy, medium carbonation, easy drinkable, ok nothing really enjoyable.