Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

Had this @ The Winking Lizard with my boys Tony & Sean after a hard week Friday night. Nose of banana, bubblegum, pears, apples & flowers. Pours a clear sparkling blonde. The mammoth stiff & tight white rocky head is fully lasting with insane lace. The brew is very unique. The start is bready with a light acidity. There is no alcohol bleed or warmth despite the 9% abv. The finish is lengthy and bitter. The medium body is creamy and soft. Hats off to Tony for a winning selection.

750ml Bottle: Aroma is yeasty and hoppy. Smells of fresh cut grass, yeast, fir, and pine. Poured golden in color with a huge, dense, creamy, white head. Very good head. Clear, but full of tons of chunky particles. Sparkling. Flavor is medium bitter. Very hoppy with notes of pine, resin, a little mint, and a tiny bit of citrus. Seems more bitter than some beers with more IBUs. Full body. Thick, viscous texture. Average carbonation. Bitter finish. Overall, the best Tripel I’ve had to date.

Had this on tap at the Maproom for my first 30th birthday beer. This had a major kick in the end. A big wallop of hops, alcohol, and sticky sweetness. Took sometime to sip through. Very thick mouthfeel, round, and long lasting. Well worth the price. Strong floral, perfume nose; similar in the taste. A nice beer to check out if you have the chance.

Bottle from Whole Foods in Alexandria - Cloudy gold, huge foamy white head. Intriguing nose of spicy florals, orange zest, and perfume, with softer notes of pepper and rock candy. Bread tones are faintly woven in. Flavor was very nice throughout with an even layer of spicy, floral, peppery hops throughout, touches of citrus, and a slight earthy tone bringing it together late. Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, dry, bittersweet finish. Don’t go in thinking Dreadnaught or 90 Min, just think La Chouffe (if you have tried it) with some extra hop kick. Very nice IPA experiment that works for me. A nice change of pace from the grapefruit league if you follow....

Got this one bottled at the Binny’s Oktoberfest in St. Charles, Illinois. Outstanding! Cloudy, strong nose of grapes and roses, vanilla and hops throughout. Smooth! Unusual and very good.

On tap at Biergarden, Portsmouth VA. As I’d expected, a very "Belgian" visual ... hazy yellow with a big airy, foam topping. This drank extremely smoothly with a definite alcohol-spice kick, a bit of a dirty orange peel aspect, wonderfully complex, yeasty, bready, grassy, barky, with a quite bitter finish. Excited to read the description of this as a cross with American Imperial IPAs, because it all makes sense now! (#2694, 2/10/2007)

Big bottle consumed over two days. Even the second day it was fresh and maintained a Duvel-like massive head. Cloudy dark yellow. The hop trio combines with yeast for a unique aroma that spans the ocean. The marriage of Tripel and IIPA works to create a delicious hoppy beverage. Very aggressive hop flavour in a golden drinkable liquid. Lingering grapefruit finish with a trace of medicine.

After the beer was served in the glass there was found a lasting quantity not wall adhesive white foam collar which was fine and evenly of structure. The beer also contained no carbonic acid in the glass. The beer has a thick golden color and a sweet taste. The after tast of the beer is hoppy bitter with a fruity touch. This beer smells fruity.