Big Chouffe 2024: follow the arrows!
For the 2024 edition of the famous Big Chouffe, Marcel and his friends are taking us into their beloved forest. There, under the pine trees and among the toadstools, the Chouffe gnomes asked comic book author Michel Constant to draw them in action.
Each year since 2005, the back label of the Big Chouffe bottles has been illustrated by a different artist. This tradition has become an eagerly awaited annual event, as much for fans of Chouffe as for the artists involved. Like all the artists who have been asked to illustrate “Big CHOUFFE”, Michel Constant was given free rein to depict the world of the Chouffe gnomes as he imagines it.
Chouffe according to Michel Constant
Originally from Liège, Michel Constant is familiar with both the Ardennes forest and the joy of meeting up with friends over a delicious Chouffe. Based on this, he has illustrated a happy trio of gnomes in the forest of the Valley of the Fairies, playing their very own game. The rules of this game are unclear, but one thing is sure: don’t hit the Chouffe glass!
After graduating from the ESA Saint-Luc school, where he studied illustration, Michel Constant quickly focused on comics. In 1987, he started illustrating the Mauro Caldi adventure series scripted by Denis Lapière. The story, drawn in the “ligne claire” style, followed the adventures of a mechanic/pilot/detective in 1950s Italy. He is also the man behind the drawings for Casterman’s “Bitume” collection, scripted by Michel Vandam. More recently, he authored “Lady Jane” for Futuropolis, a sweet and poignant tale of female friendship set during a dark time in Thatcher’s England.
See the sky through rose-tinted glasses!
The Big Chouffe 2024 label is also a family affair, as Michel’s wife, Béatrice Constant, herself a talented colour artist, has added her warm and unique palette to the artwork, complete with a beautiful pink sky!
Where you can find the collector’s edition bottles of Big Chouffe 2024
his exclusive series of 133,333 1.5-litre bottles bearing Michel Constant’s design will be available from January 2024. You will be able to find them at beer merchants, supermarkets, the Chouffe-shop in Achouffe, and the online shop. They will also be exported to various European countries (France, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland).
The origins of Big Chouffe
Chouffe tastes even better when it’s shared in good company. There are so many gnomes in the Valley of the Fairies who enjoy Chouffe that there isn’t always enough to go round with a 33cl bottle.
This is why, in 2005, they played one of their best tricks on us: in the dead of night, they sneaked into the brewery to replace the 33cl bottles with other bottles, these ones much larger than the gnomes themselves. By the time the master brewer had noticed anything was amiss, several Big Chouffe had already been bottled.
He was pleasantly surprised by the idea, and it was decided that these mammoth 1.5-litre Chouffe bottles would be sold as collector’s items, with a different artist chosen to illustrate the back label each year.
Previous designers of the Big Chouffe label
2023 – Herr Steele
2022 – André Taymans
2021 – Charel Cambré
2020 – Bram de Baere
2019 – Thiel
2018- Carin
2017 – Margerin
2016 – Malik
2015 – Potma
2014-Walthery
2013 – Derib
2012 – Turk
2011 – Trondheim
2010 Johan De Moor
2009 – Janin
2008 – Hausman
2007 – Ijf Blokker
2006 – Servais
