Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

Pours lightly hazy golden / yellow with a healthy white head that just won’t leave. Spiciness from the hops dominates the aroma - lots of it is there along with some Belgium yeast and tripel malt qualities. The aroma strikes me as a "best of both worlds" kind of thing. Medium / full bodied beer with a lot of soft frothy carbonation. Start with the sweet tripel malt and earthy yeast, but it is quickly overtaken by a ton of hops. Finish has lots of spicy hops with wooden hints. After the normal finish there is a combination of tripel aspect that return, but the hops still take center stage. An absolutely fantastic beer that mixed my two favorite style very nicely. Huge thanks to Brasserie dAchouffe for taking a chance and making something so unique and wonderful.

[Bottled at Akkurat, Stockholm] Hazy pale golden, very rich and firm head. Powerful flowery hops combines with estery raspberry candy in the aroma. Sweet with soft, light, sparkling mouthfeel. Rich on hops with intriguing yeasty character. The alcohol is noticable and lifts the beer even further. Candyish finish with good bitterness. A complex beer with an unusual cross of rich hoppiness and superb malt character.

Pours a very cloudy straw blonde with a big lasting frothy head. Aroma is earthy, apricots, mangos, pine. Lots of esters and spicy phenolics. The body is med. with a very nice amount of CO2. The flavors are numerous to say the least. Tons of passion fruit, tropical juiciness, pine and sweet malts. Finish is decidedly dry and lovely. One of the best balances I have ever tasted in any beer.

Gusher when opened. Cloudy golden appearance with a huge, billowing, long lasting head and beautiful lacing. Aroma is herbal hops, spices, mild citrus, honey and yeast. Multifaceted taste revels in its complexity, from floral, hoppy bitterness, to sweet, bready malts through to an appealing funkiness. Medium-to-full bodied mouthfeel with a high level of carbonation. Funkiness lingered in the finish. Very interesting and thoroughly enjoyable.

On tap @ Anam Cara. Pours a hazy golden yellow with big fluffy white head. The head is so creamy and delicous. The aroma is fairly yeasy and floral with some spices (pepper/coriander). The taste is an awesome combo of traditional belgian tastes and a hop-head beer. Flowery, citrusy, yeast, lightly sweet malts, subtle but obvious spices, and of course hops. Ummmm...so good.

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.

A hilly white head with pale golden body. Smell of the forest (trees, pines). The alcohol is very present in mouth but there is a dry finish. The second gulp was better in the finish, could taste lime (very refreshing!) and lots of hop. Very interesting complexity.

Bottle from Super Saver. Hazy gold pour with huge, fluffy white head. Aroma of big spicy florals, heavy hops. The flavor is floral, hopcitric, spicy, with a malty honey sweetness counterbalanced by the big hops. This one is well rounded, complex, and for my money, outstanding.