Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

Light golden-cloudy color with lots of foam. Very sweet banana-berry with yeasty malt. Taste is very sweet and appetizing. A good overall tripel upfront with some really good hop taste. Man this is good for a tripel! I don’t want to knock the traditonal Belgians, but its nice to find one that has some serious hoppiness! Very unique! The only downside was the fake banana flavor. I like bananas, but this was more like that fake banana candy. Other than that, this one is really, really good.

From 750 ml bottle, this poured a cloudy rich gold color. It raised a big fat head that looked like whipped cream and lasted seemingly forever. After 10 minutes there was still a big hunk floating in the glass. Amazing lacing. Really big hoppy nose, with odors of banana, cloves, coriander, citrus and yeast. Moutfeel very rich and smooth. Flavors quite complex... I detect fruits like apricots and melons, and spices like coriander and some citrus. Long dry finish. Remarkable brew and quite enjoyable. Almost like drinking wine.

Cloudy bright golden/yellow with plenty of floaties as I made my way to the end of the bottle. Huge rocky white head, made of tiny carbonation bubbles, great lacing, leaves the entire glass coated in film. Great aroma of mostly spicy-floral hops, faint citrus/lemon detectable, yeasty bread, candy sugar and malt character much like the bam biere. Bready malt in the initial flavor is quickly overtaken by citrus hops and candi sugar. As it warms gets a tad harsh in the finish, with a spicy hop and warming alcohol bite. Carbonation cleans palate somewhat, leaving only hop bitterness for aftertaste. Would score even better (4.4-4.5) without the harsh finish.

Hazy blond coloured, almost no carbonation with an average white head. Herby hoppy aroma. Full fresh taste. Finish is bitter, yeasty and special. Strong, long finish.

(Bottle at Delirium Cafe, Brussels) Pours yellow hazy with yeast. Big white head. The aroma is sweet with citrusy hops. Lemon and soap. Hey and some malt .Yeast. The flavour is salty with some pepper that turnes to citrusy, lemon and grapey hops. Herbs and some cheesy tones. Juniper. Sharp carbonation. Light body, but ok afterbitterness.

Quite an interesting beer to say the least. A Belgian triple double IPA? LOL. Helluva idea. To start things out, the appearance was a pale yellowish color, slightly hazy decent conditioning and a nice head. Aroma was ctirusy/hoppy, yes but there was also some banannas, some bubblegum, some yeasty breadiness and perhaps some light spice too (cloves?). The mouthfeel was medium bodied, rather sharp and sorta zingy. Flavors were sharp citrus, hops (although compared to West Coast IIPA’s, it’s really tame), malty, bready, and somewhat sweet. Overall a quite enjoyable beer. An experiment that actually worked! Well done.

750ml. Pours a cloudy yellow with a huge white head, even in the wide chalice. The nose is tart with some wild, yeasty notes, a small hint at bitter, papery hops, banana, cloves, and rye. Mouthfeel is semi-dense with sparkling carbonation. Now, the flavor is where the beer truly excels and as we all know, that is the most important category. The hops become much more evident. Sure, it’s not a massive hop bomb. Sure, it’s not on the level of a true American IIPA, but yes, it is hoppy indeed. Plenty of sharp, resiny pine flavors pierce my tongue while smooth, estery, fruity flavors balance everything out. A delightful lingering zing dries out my mouth, bright, juicy pineapple makes itself known; semi-tart notes pucker, sweet fruits almost moisten my washed-out palate. It’s a fantastic, deep, clean beer with a commendable hop presence to boot.
[October 14, 2008]
750ml. This is a heavily cloudy yellow with a billowing, tall white head. After several minutes, it has condensed into a rocky ball which looks like ice cream. Man, I love the way this beer smells. It’s strong, though not necessarily off the charts in the way of hoppiness. Notes of flowers, lemon zest, oranges, wood, banana, deep spices are all found. The mouthfeel is spritzy enough to accent all the bitter goodness. The flavor is what I’d expect after getting a whiff of this nectar. More deep, complex citrus character balanced by intricate sweet and spiced hints. The depth and complexity on this one along with its unique attributes make this a repeat purchase of mine.

Thanks to hapjyduece for bringing this bottle to the PP bottle shop. Cloudy yellow amber color. Some nice Saaz hop aroma. I used notice this smell and think the beer was skunked, but now I realize it’s Saaz hops, and I appreciate and enjoy the smell. Very easy to drink. Very nice.