La Chouffe,

the colloquial name for Brasserise d’Achouffe, is a regional brewery located in the Ardennes region of Belgium in the village of Achouffe. It was founded by Chris Bauweraerts and his brother-in-law Pierre Gobron in 1982, when they brewed their first 49 l of La Chouffe in a former pigsty using two antique washing coppers. Their role model was Pierre Celis, and the inspiration for their first beer came from Hoegaarden Grand Cru. See celis, pierre, and hoegaarden. The unique spicy flavor and the red-hooded, bearded gnome on the label (the “Chouffe,” a fanciful local mascot) proved to be a successful combination and sales soared. Demand forced them to replace and expand their brewery six times in the following 25 years. Bottling was moved offsite in 1999 to a facility in Fontenaille, 4 km away. Duvel Moortgat bought the brewery in 2006 and has made several changes, including building a new waste water processing facility, doubling the brewing capacity, and filling in 33-cl as well as the traditional 75-cl bottles. La Chouffe brews the following five beers: La Chouffe (since 1982; 8% alcohol by volume (ABV) and 25 EBUs), Mc Chouffe (since 1987; 8% ABV and 25 EBU), Chouffe Bok 6.666 (since 1991; 6.6% ABV and 35 EBU), N’Ice Chouffe (since 1993; 10% ABV, spiced with thyme and Curaçao peel and 25 EBU), and IPA-Tripel hybrid Houblon Chouffe (launched in 2006; 9% ABV and 50 EBU). Most are fully bottle conditioned. Brasserie d’Achouffe’s beers are now exported to more than 20 countries and La Chouffe Blonde is brewed under license by Brasseurs RJ in Montreal, Canada.