Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

How i’ve never rated this beer I don’t know! I’ve had it countless times. tonight i had it on draft and in the bottle! Yeasty, resiny, sweet aroma. Pours blonde with a huge white head, that looks like foam. Creamy on the tongue, somewhat sweet, with very lovely hop flavor. Dry and bitter, herbal, with a hint of citrus, and a nice finish that lingers just right.

Beatifully mild banana yellow color with a soft hazey glow. Monsterously creamy and tall compacted capping of white, decoratively fopped foam. A thick white blanket of lacing drapes itself across the glass with barely any missing stitches to it. All the while the head itself hardly moves as it unfolds into a sculpted heep of marshmellow mush. Aroma is approachable by arms length at first pour. Big and lofty with a peppery spice of yeast and dry hops backed by green bananas and old pineapple. Mellows out to be alot more rounded and mellow with a bit more of dullishly soft lemon pie. Soft, delicate, well rounded flavors ensue and fill the palate quickly with a creamy, fluffy textured delight of banana and lemon pie filling. Frothy candyness with very mild, intriguing citrusy flavors take a place well along the palate as it subsides some into a middling finish of slight peppery spice and hoppy dryness. Its savoriness superseeds its simplicity as it builds and builds with intensely mild, yet fronting froth of maltyness and mellowed candyness. It favors a light warmth late as it cinders like a fading fire with some wonderfully replaced citrus candy thats super milding and fluffy. It tends to create a billowing sense of banana, lemon, and pineaplle as it seeps into the mouth leaving nice little spicyness of pepper hops. The Saaz makes for most of its snap and strength; however is seemingly wiped away by its play of candyish pie filling sweetness. Its quite remarkable in balance through and through. The spice is never over powering, as its ABV is barely evident... ...which seems laughable. The 9% displayed on the ’Gnome sniffing hops’ label says nothing to its dimeanor... well actually, at least until late after much of the 750ml has been drained. Then watch out it’ll make ya go weee....I’m a Gnome, I’m a Gnome... The feel is amazingly soft and full with an awesomely foregiving, supple body and warmth of dulled citrusy candy-pie filling. Frothy in texture and one of the most unique in stature that I’ve not encountered before. Its like liquid pastry. I swear. Its that good. Fine drinkability. Soft, yielding, delightful, and yummyliscious. It makes a slow settled, sinking impression into the mind with wonderment and awe as it makes me ponder how a beer so good could be so dangerous. I mean it made me say something along the lines of ’savoriness’? C’mon, thats worth something, isn’t it? Wow! A lovely, lovely beer. A real winner by Chouffe!

Bottle had a hint of skunk that blew off. Tripel spiciness merges into IPA herbal hops, resulting in a very interesting melding of styles.

wow now thats a beer. nice hazy straw color with tonse of yeast floating at the bottom.good nice head, herbal belgian style aroma, taste is again very belgian with a kicker of good strong hops. dry. very nice brew. This one surprised me!!!

Take a Westmalle Tripel, add tons of hops, dry hop, and shake it up. This is it. A very good tripel, hopped to hell like an American Imperial IPA. this is amazing. Great aroma with citrus, Belgian yeast, golden malt. Flavor doesn’t let down. This was a good new idea.

Draught at SunSet Grill 4/27/06. Pours a very cloudy bright golden color with a huge white rocky head. Head receedes leaving lots of thick lacing throughout the glass. Nose is very yeasty, light hops, some cloves and light banana esters. Palate is slightly chalky and biscuity with a residue finish. Flavors of much yeast, light banana and clove, some biscuits and light hops.

25.4 oz bottle. Hazy light orange with a huge white head that won’t die. Big canyons open up. A hoppy tripel, well of course. Some sweet orange peel tickles the nose. A little one, er two, dimensional but well done.

33cl bottle. Hazy dark yellow with a meringue-like white head that lasts longer then the beer and laces liberally. Fruity and yeasty aroma with peppery spice and lots of pineapple. The flavor has lots of fruit: pineapple and citrus that seems to be from the hops. Hop flavor is big considering, but the sweet fruitiness definitely dominates it. Sweet and full, with a dry bitterness in the finish that hints at an IPA, though remains very belgian. Alcohol presence is minimal. Full and chewy mouthfeel with smooth but ample carbonation. Tripels usually aren’t my favorite Belgian style, but this has an interesting complexity and clash of influences that makes it very tasty. I how an american that is used to IPAs would find this much more appealing than a typical tripel.