Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

750mL bottle from Knightly Spirits in Orlando--we shall see how it survived the trip. Pours a hazy light golden straw with a large creamy white head. Aroma is full of yeast, granny smith apples, some orange peel, unripened bananas, dust, pepper, floral and spicy hops, a little bit of sweet malts. The IIPA comes through at the end with the alcohol and piney hops. Also some hay in there. Kinda weird in that there’s the Belgian yeast and candy sweetness in the beginning (as opposed to the caramel and toffee malts of IIPAs), but ends much the way an IIPA would. It seems like this should be under the IIPA and not tripel, but oh well. The balance and flavors meld together much better once this guy warms up, so take your time drinking this (I don’t know why you wouldn’t in the first place). Pretty lacing. At first taste, I thought this brew was overrated. Now I’m not so sure. I know most people don’t like pilsensers, but this is sort of like an overhopped pilsener with some added awesomeness. The more I drink this (I get to drink the whole 750mL), the more I’m liking it. Also, no matter how you pour this, the head is huge. Fairly light bodied for 9%, and still well carbonated even after most is spent on the head. Great stuff!

Ordered online. Poured into my Schiltz Chalice, this Belgian ale poured with a monstrous foam of good density, forming cool shapes as it fell. Dried herbs, with hints of fruits (white peach and pear), some aroma hops. Herbal and dry initially, until the mid-palate leads way into a deep, sweet, estery fruitiness, with hints of mint. Finish has some hops, lingering herb and spruce. Just okay. Not very magical. Could be hoppier.

Murky gold with a huge white head and sheets of lace. Dry and dusty nose that is very hoppy. Spicey as well. Flavor is comprised of honey and spice. Lots of citrus and bitter. Cloying, sticky palate and a sour finish.

33cl Bottle. Spritzy Belgian aroma, with salt-cured lemon rind, musky melon seeds, light apple jam and wispy vegetal notes. Beautiful clear golden pour, with a couple fingers of astounding, pillow, crisp white mounds of satiny head. On the tongue, an incredible airy quality. Well dryed and lifting, with noticeable bitterness in the middle. I can sense an edge of Tomahawk bittering. Residual sweetness carries bold lemon sugars and light hexanes. A wash of yeast and bread flow through the backend. Hop qualities featured in a real sense of bittering, with a strong grassy quality maintaining through the whole profile. A nice mixed citrus-spice tinge to the hops in the nose, carried by perfumy alcohols. In the end, I find the hops a touch coarse and rough, but it’s a very interesting brew. I think restraining the grassy bitterness and playing more on the flavor components, greatness could be achieved. However, this is not to denigrate the masterful brewing it took to get to this point. Well executed.

A nice and uncharacteristically hoppy abbey tripel. Aroma of sweet fruits, sugar and yeast. Pour was a medium gold with a gorgeous 3 finger white head. Taste was a complex mix of sweet sugar, fruit and caramel malt with a nice hoppy bitter aftertaste. This beer defines the word complex. Nice.

Huge foamy eruption before the cap was removed. Big rocky white head that sticks around, a classic Munich brauhaus pour. Nice herbal, grassy weed aroma . Light/medium body and very smooth. Dry cracker malt taste up front with an incredible sweet spicy mix of west coast and euro hops to finish. very easy drinking, love this one. 1307

Thanks to Beerdrenched. Pour is cloudy with tons of floaties and a huge white head. Aroma is very creamy with a nice strong dose of fresh hops. Flavor has quite a lot of vanilla and is super creamy. Hops show up on the swallow. Smooth and easy to drink with the alcohol well hidden. A cross between a Belgian and an IPA.

33 cl. Cloudy pale golden pear-colored, with a huge meringue of a head that lasts forever. Nose is estery banana, Juicy Fruit chewing gum, and some lemon. Big sweet flavors of mango, apricot, banana, peach, and wheaty bubblegum are dried just enough by tastes of bready yeast, citrus peel, resin, wood, and slight alcohol. Light-medium body is smooth and dry.