Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

Lemon meringue pie in a glass! Rich pale golden color beneath a rocky meringue-like pillowy head that retreats to sexy Belgian lace within a few minutes. Faint yeast wispies dance in the beer as well. Nose is lemony, clean, and somewhat metallic. The clean character is more like clean n’ fresh. Palate offers an interesting balance of background malt with citrusy sweet hops, and the light fruitiness of the yeast is at play also. Nice balance and complexity, without being hit over the head with any particular component of the experience. Long, juicy-fruit finish and again very "fresh clean".

Peoria Beerfest 2009. Sample pour. Very rocky head, and very pale yellow. Terrific balance of hop flavor- it’s there but not overwhelming. Citrus, orange, grapefruit in the background. Well done. It’s so easy to make a hop-bomb and call it an IPA, but this does it with some elegance and subtlety.

11.2 oz bottle. A rather refreshing yet fairly strong aroma, not as hoppy as expected with the smell, but their definitely there with notes of straw grass, some herbal spice, minor citrus, along with buttery bread, and a mellow nuttiness. A gigantic pour out of the bottle with a towering fluffy, whispy white cloud head, medium-thick looking body, moderate particulate, and tangerine-yellow in color. Drinking this beer is also very refreshing. The ease of the drinkability was slightly unexpected given the style and abv. There really is only a slight kick right at the end in the finish and linger. This is really more of a dry peppery spice, herbal grass hop feeling that is really quite nice. Aside from that, hop bitterness does not take over this beer, but does balance things out pretty well with the body of buttery cookie, a mix of milder fruits like apples and peaches, light melon, and some lighter berry. Again, this was a very drinkable and pleasant beer. Not as unique and complex as a blend of various styles like the brewers might suggest, but none the less a high quality ale.

Draft at the Flying Saucer Houston. Cloudy gold, chunky white head. Nose is slightly hoppy and very spicy. Taste is mild hops, understated, spicy, a bit funky, alcohol is well hidden. Definitely Belgian. Light body, very dry, and very drinkable. Deceptive. Body thins out when is warms. A ghost of a beer (sorry Dany). Well done.

(Draught at Bishops Arms Folkungagatan, Stockholm, on 2009-04-11) Golden and hazy. Medium sized and long lasting white head. Hops and fruitiness in aroma. Full bodied and dry palate with medium carbonation. Malts, hops, ruitiness, grass, bitterness, pine, yeast and tiny bit of sourness in taste. Bitter and fruity aftertaste.

Have had this one lying around for a few years, waiting for the right occasion to break it open. Easter lunch seemed like a good opotunity. Its was EXACTLY what i expected it to be, nothing more nothing less. Hazy yellow with a wonderfull, spooneatable, dense white head. Aroma was the expected mix between yeasty fruity esters suck as apricot and pear mixed with citrus/lemongrass hops. Perfect amount of alchohol that just goes oh so well with the beforementioned flavors. Both bitter and sweet, and a nice sugery sweetness on top of that. Really unique style. Why, I dont know...

On tap at Papago. Pours hazy peach with a thin white head. The nose is spicy yeast, malt and floral hops. The taste is floral hops, yeast, faint bubblegum and sweet citrus with some alcohol in the finish. Medium semi-creamy mouth feel. Decent stuff.

A tripel on steroid, great malt character and hugely hoppy for the style. Nice balance between sweetness and bitterness. Unusual stuff, first the bitterness was almost too much for the beer but I ended up loving it.