Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

Hazy yellow/gold. Huge, billowing, dense, white head fills about half of the oversized snifter. The carbonation quickly settles to an island Ayer’s Rock with a thick coat of lacing left behind. Aroma of big, crisp, spicy, floral hops. A touch of cannabis - sativa, not indica. Perfumey. Intense yet delicate. Grainy and sweet undertones, and a sense of depth, also in the nose. Love that smell. Same flavor. The hops add some resinous pine notes. Fruity yeast, grainy malt, and candi sugar are all supporting characters. Finishes dry, peppery, bitter. Medium, well carbonated body. Carbonation accents the flavor nicely in this one. Use a tulip, give it some time and a snifter might be better. Too much head right now. This brew stands toe to toe with any American IIPA.

Buddy brought this back from FL, and now that I live there, I see it all over. Weird! It’s like a Belgian Tripel, but with lots of hops!

Bottle, said batch # 3, best before end 2009. Huge, fluffy head and THICK lacing, my goodness, looked like styrofoam spray or something on the sides of my glass. Aroma of spices, including clove and others (not very knowledgeable with my spices), banana, maybe some other light fruit, and the advertised hops that were all at once unexpectedly light but surprisingly placed amidst the classic Belgian yeast scent. All in all intriguing, but very delicate, refined. Flavor was equally delicate but continued to be a unique blending of styles, as it was supposed to be, hops become a bit more of a presence toward the end, but certainly never overwhelming the softer flavors contained. Very well done brew, enjoyed it a lot, definitely achieved maximum potential for such delicate flavors.

Bottled 33cl. Murky light golden with a tall nicely remaining head. A lot of sediment. The nose reminds me of grapefruit, oranges, mango, papaya, vanilla and crystal sugar - hoppy, fruity and sweet. Very pleasant taste; surprisingly sweet and yeasty components with a good hop blend accompanying them. But a tad too sweet for my liking. Full bodied. Beautiful lacework. Grapefruit, lemon and melon showing up. Very complex. Late bitterness. Overall impression: A good beer. Too yeasty and sweet for my liking though.

750 ml bottle - guessing just over a year old by the bottle code; pale gold with minor haze; huge, eggy white head fades slowly and leaves plenty of sticky lace; primary nose of grass, sweet malt, some lemon and yeast; grassy-ness dominates though; some pepper and spice come out in the flavors; would certainly like to try fresher; body is on the thin side, but plenty of texture comes out and is a little silky; bitterness in the finish and quite sweet overall; dry, fruity, spicy and actually pretty bitter the more I drink; really dig the grassy nose; yummy...great stuff!!

75cl, exclusive brew, from De Hopduvel Gent, very complex, cloudy, rocky head, the best of the Chouffe-range, one of the best Blonde Belgian beers

[Odense-tasting at Scheffel. Bottle bought in La Roche.] Well, indeed a very nice beer, which is a mix of many traditions. Hazy golden look with a big head. Notes of flowerhops (almost like a triple), spices, citrus, yeast, complexity, ingrediently and a bit warming. Fantastic!

750 mL capped Bottle, fairly fresh – 2006: Brilliant, glowing hazed yellow, with a large fluffy white head, that gathers in cotton ball patches – beautiful! Lightly toasted sourdough and peppery, grapefruit hop aromatics. Smooth, tingly palate, with a bright hop profile reminiscent of a true, fresh Czech Pilz, but with a depth that only the Belgians (and select others) can accomplish…tart apricots, pineapple, honeycomb, Soda bread all dancing with funky Green King IPA-esk flavours, alongside a rich light colored toffee malt and doughy yeast, WOW. Dry, lasting finish – with a deep citrus zest bitterness and irony coat. I’ll have another, please.