10 Things You Should Know About La Chouffe and the Iconic Belgian Brewery Behind It
As many brewery origin stories go, Brasserie d’Achouffe started as a homebrew hobby that snowballed into a full-time operation. In 1982, brothers-in-law Pierre Gobron and Chris Bauweraerts brewed their first batch of beer in a cowshed. Now, Brasserie d’Achouffe is one of the most recognizable names in Belgian beer, boasting a portfolio of seven iconic brews — and one non-alc option — that are distributed all over the world.
Of course, none of the brewery’s offerings are as widely-beloved as the one that started it all: La Chouffe. From coriander seed infusions to the birth of an IPA substyle, here are 10 things you should know about La Chouffe and the brewery behind it.
We can thank the founder of Hoegaarden for La Chouffe’s coriander kick.
La Chouffe, the 8-percent-ABV Belgian blonde ale that marked the inception of Brasserie d’Achouffe has gone through a few recipe tweaks over the years, but perhaps the most significant came from a suggestion courtesy of the late Pierre Celis, better known as the founder of the iconic Hoegaarden Brewery. His idea: Adding coriander seeds to the brew. Ever since, the team at Brasserie d’Achouffe has added exactly 3.7 kilograms of ground coriander seeds to every 10,000-liter batch of La Chouffe.
The Netherlands crowned La Chouffe the ‘Beer of the Century’ in 1999.
After establishing distribution in Belgium, Brasserie d’Achouffe made its international market debut in the Netherlands, just across the northern Belgian border. The move was a massive hit — so much so that La Chouffe was voted “Beer of the Century” by the Dutch in 1999, according to Brasserie d’Achouffe.
The name “Chouffe” doesn’t actually mean anything.
While the natural assumption would be that “Chouffe” is a nod to the Achouffe region where the brewery resides, that’s not the case. According to the Brasserie d’Achouffe website, one day during the brewery’s infancy, Bauweraerts was out to lunch with a colleague who suggested — with his mouth full — that he “call [his] beer ‘Oumpf.’” Upon swallowing, the colleague corrected himself and said “Chouffe.” After a few nights of contemplating the name, Bauweraerts shared the idea with fellow co-founder Gobron, and they decided to run with it.
Brasserie d’Achouffe produced the first-ever Belgian IPA following a request from a U.S. importer.
In late 2005, Brasserie d’Achouffe U.S. importer requested that it craft an “exceedingly hoppy triple” brewed with American hops to be showcased at NYC’s “Ultimate Belgian Tasting” in the Empire State Building. Reluctant but ultimately willing, the brewery concocted the heavily-hopped, 9-percent-ABV Belgian Tripel Houblon Chouffe and shipped it out in time for the February event. Houblon Chouffe is considered the world’s first Belgian IPA, a popular Beer Judge Certification Program-certified substyle.
La Chouffe is the star ingredient of a soft-ripened Belgian cheese.
Beer and cheese is a timeless pairing, and the folks at Brasserie d’Achouffe have made it possible to have your beer and eat it too. In the early ‘90s, the brewery teamed up with Belgian restaurant and grocery store Ferme des Quatre Vents to make a Saint-Paulin-style cheese matured in La Chouffe beer for three weeks. The cheese, dubbed Patachouffe, went on to receive a “Coq de Cristal” (top honors) at the Libramont Agricultural Fair in 2002, and it’s still being produced to this day.
Brasserie d’Achouffe uses beer to make an eau de vie for a nearby distillery.
The brewery also dipped its toes into the spirits world in 2002 when it released a limited-edition eau de vie, Esprit d’Achouffe, distilled from 5-year-old Mc Chouffe ale. Although the brewery no longer sells the spirit as a standalone product, it still produces it for Belgian distillery and brewery Rubbens, where it serves as the base for both Chouffe Coffee liqueur and Chouffe Cream liqueur.
Brasserie d’Achouffe’s co-founders were sick of seeing monks and abbeys on beer labels, so they opted for gnomes.
Anyone who’s ever seen a bottle of Chouffe beer has likely noticed the half bent-over gnomes depicted on the brewery’s labels. There’s the leader of the pack, Marcel, as well as Malcolm the Scot, the nondescript Matthew, and Ms. Micheline. According to the brewery, co-founder Chris Bauweraerts chose the gnome mascots to separate their beers’ packaging from the sea of Belgian beers adorned with images of abbeys and paunchy monks, “even if the drink[s] didn’t have a religious origin.” The lightbulb moment arrived during a televised post-tornado charity event in 1982 when Bauweraerts spotted a watercolor painting of a gnome spying on a farm. Less than a year later, Marcel was born.
Die-hard La Chouffe fans are known to rock the brand’s signature red gnome hat.
Fans of the Brasserie d’Achouffe’s beers might as well don some signature brand garb, and arguably no garment fits the bill quite like the brewery’s red gnome hat. While it certainly makes Belgian beer enthusiasts look like they work for Santa Claus, it’s a symbol of true Chouffe loyalty. That’s why Brasserie d’Achouffe cites wearing it as one of the five top requirements of a Chouffe fan.
In 2006, Brasserie d’Achouffe was scooped up by Duvel Moorgat.
Although some in the beer industry view brewery acquisitions as “selling out,” under certain circumstances selling a business is the American — or Belgian — dream. After over 20 years at the helm of Brasserie d’Achouffe, co-founders Gobron and Bauweraerts sold their brewery to fellow Belgian company Duvel Moorgat, parent company of Firestone Walker, De Koninck,
Brewery Ommegang, and Boulevard Brewing Co. Since the deal closed in 2006, the brewery has upgraded its facilities, expanded its distribution network, and implemented air-conditioned warehouses to store its beer and keep it as fresh as possible before hitting shelves. Bauweraerts still maintains an active role in the brewery as of late 2024, serving as the global brand ambassador of Brasserie d’Achouffe.
The brewery hosts a number of cycling and running events throughout the year.
In recent years, Brasserie d’Achouffe has hosted annual races in the summer around the heart of the Achouffe region. La Chouffe Classic draws roughly 5,000 cyclists from all over Europe and La Chouffe trail gives runners the opportunity to explore the region’s landscape on foot. The best part? There’s always fresh Chouffe beer flowing at the finish line.
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