Chouffe Fest: A festival of Belgian craft beers kicks off in May

Chouffe, creator of fine beers brewed in the heart of the Belgian Ardennes, is bringing back its popular Chouffe Fest, a one-night beer fest sweeping the nation, produced by Los Angeles-based creative agency Bagavagabonds.

After wildly popular Chouffe Fest events in Los Angeles, Boston and Miami, the Chouffe gnomes will invade Chicago on Thursday, May 1; followed by Cleveland on May 3; Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City in June; and San Francisco and Dallas in the fall. Future dates and venues for Chouffe Fest will be announced on the Chouffe Fest website.

Chouffe Fest was designed to celebrate Chouffe’s Belgian craft beers, which rumor has it, were hand-crafted by magical gnomes and passed in secret to Chouffe’s founders in the 1970s. Inspired by this mystical tale, Chouffe Fest invites guests to step into the imaginary world of the Chouffe gnomes, which includes an eight-foot-tall “gnome throne” photo booth and giant, playable versions of checkers, Jenga and Connect Four.

Chouffe Fest is artistically curated by Bagavagabonds from top to bottom and will feature custom stop-start animation loops in each city based on local landmarks. Guests can take home on-site screen-printed posters, create and send custom letter-pressed postcards, or have their “gnome-i-fied” portrait hand-drawn by an on-site caricature artist. Each event will also feature a special musical act, DJ and, of course, complimentary food to pair with delicious Chouffe Belgian craft beers.

Chouffe Fest will feature the following Belgian craft brews from Chouffe:

La Chouffe is a Belgian blonde ale with a hazy golden yellow color with full white head. La Chouffe boasts aromas of peppery spice and flavors of candy sweetness and fruity esters, followed by a creamy dry finish in this highly carbonated and gently warming ale. It contains 8% alcohol by volume (ABV) and a Rate Beer rating of 98.

Mc Chouffe is a Belgian-Scottish dark ale that is rich brown in color with a light tawny head. Featuring deep aromas of chocolate, toffee and caramel with rich nutty and spicy flavors of almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg, Mc Chouffe has a dry, creamy finish with noticeable warmth. It contains 8% ABV and a Rate Beer rating of 97.

Houblon Chouffe is a Belgian IPA Triple that is golden yellow with a delicate white head. Featuring grassy and citrus aromas from Amarillo, Tomahawk and Saaz hops with slight aromatics of clove; biscuit malt flavors are followed by a touch of honey then a dry, crisp finish marked with a touch of orange. Houblon Chouffe contains 9% ABV and boasts a Rate Beer rating of 99.

Chouffe Fest Chicago will take place May 1 from 7 – 11 p.m. at the Logan Square Auditorium located at 2539 N. Kedzie Blvd. Tickets are on sale for $10 each. Chouffe Fest Cleveland will take place Saturday, May 3 from 7 – 11 p.m. at the Trinity Cathedral located at 2230 Euclid Ave. Tickets are on sale for $10 each. Guests must be 21 and over to attend all Chouffe Fest events.

And keep it tuned to Craft Brewing Business for a chance to win free tickets to the Chicago and Cleveland events next week.