Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

Brewed by Brasserie d’Achouffe (Moortgat)
Style: Abbey Tripel
Achouffe, Belgium

Dark yellow colored with cloudy appearance. Medium sized white head. Rich hopped aroma with grass and flowers, some fruity tones with peach and orange peel, also some tripel spiciness, mild alcohol and even some vinous tones come up. Excellent aroma. Medium to full bodied. Flavor is similar with sweet fruity start, aftertaste turns to dry hopped with flowers, spices, yeast and lemon last. Excellent brew.

small bottle @ In Good Company in Rockland Maine. I’ve had this before but never rated it. Pours copper with an off white head. Nose is light with some hops, but I have a cold. Taste is nice and sweet with a great balance of belgian and dipa.

Tap, at ZBF 2006. Hazy gold, good white head and good conditon. Gentle peppery spicy hops and some yeastiness in the nose, good restrained honeyed maltiness in the mouth with some fruitiness and a balancing hop bitterness, lingering chalky hop bitterness in the finish.

Big bottle consumed over two days. Even the second day it was fresh and maintained a Duvel-like massive head. Cloudy dark yellow. The hop trio combines with yeast for a unique aroma that spans the ocean. The marriage of Tripel and IIPA works to create a delicious hoppy beverage. Very aggressive hop flavour in a golden drinkable liquid. Lingering grapefruit finish with a trace of medicine.

Bottle. Gold pour. Nice hops and malt on the nose with some citrus and spice. Flavor is hoppy, malty and fruity. damn nice beer.

In the 750 mL bottle from Beertopia. Simply outstanding. Pours a rich golden yellow color with a marshmellow cream head. If Dairy Queen sold beer Blizzards, they would look like this. Has a simply beautiful smelling pine and grapefruit citrus aroma. Can this really be made by Belgians? If so, where have they been hiding their hop prowess all this time? The flavor is nectar of the gods. A wonderfully thick and rich body. Has a perfect palate of silky smoothness. The awesome big hop bitterness is in harmony with a big malt candy sweetness infused with honey flavors. A near-perfect balance of flavors. I will be buying this fantastic beer again.

This beer might be more fairly called an ipa. As is, it is a good blend of the styles. There is significant hop bitterness in the aroma and flavor. There are also spicy, herbal hops. The fruity sweetness is a good contrast to the bitter hops and this fusion is a success. However, there is no way this beer is at the top of the tripel category; it is far too different from all others of the style to rightfully be there.

Bottle at Akkurat, Stockholm. Pours out in lively golden appearance with a huge white head. Extremely pleasant hop aroma of lemon-rind, orange-peels, grass, pine-apples, wormwood and white pepper. Flavour starts pretty sweet of pine-apples, Royal Gala apples and oranges but strong grassy, peppery and slightly herbal hops takes over pretty quickly. Long spicy, peery and grassy bitter finish with esterty undertones. Better than Urthel Hop It. Damn good!