Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

Pours a cloudy and hazy glowing golden color, with a huge rocky white head, that doesn’t go away. Nice light floral hops with a nice biscuity citrus sweetness to it. Great retenetion as the remaining head is still floating around like an iceberg five minutes after pouring. Great lemony citrus flavor with a nice bitter bite. Great mineral and bicsuit eartiness balance out the flavor.

750 ml. bottle, poured a cloudy golden orange color. The pour into the tulip glass produced 3 inches of thick lasting head. Initial tasting revealed some serious hops with citrus notes and a dry finish. Really enjoyed this one.

Sampled an 11.2 oz. bottle at Eastern Standard in Boston. I had heard a lot about this beer, and thought why not give it a go. The pour was a light golden color with monstrous, rocky, foamy white head. I don’t think I had seen anything like it. The lacing it left on the glass was absolutely incredible, it was like the glass had turned white as well. The aroma was interesting to say the least, with a an expertly crafted mixture of double IPA and tripel characteristics. Pine needles, grapefruit, cloves, bananas, yeastiness. The taste pretty much echoed, with the tripel tastes dominating the initial taste, followed by pleasant hop bitterness at the end. Palate was moderate, in both texture and carbonation. I must say that this an experiment gone wonderfully right. I truly am amazed at how well the two style merged together. I’ll definitely be investing in a 750 ml of this some time in the future.

Clear honey amber color, huge billowing white head. Well carbonated yet never spritzy; really smooth and creamy. Very pleasant aroma, floral, peppery, yeasty. Flavor is classic belgian tripel, lightly sweet fruitiness, a little peppery, doughy, yeasty. It’s the hops, though, that make this stand out from the crowd. Not terribly bitter, certainly not an IPA, let alone "imperial". The bitterness that’s there works really well in enhancing the tripel base. Really lovely.

Bottle. Huge fizzy white head that lasted forever. Amazing lacework like never before. It was actually so thick that when you moved the glass, you could not see the foam move alt all. Leaving behind big lumps of whipped cream like lacing. Body was slightly hazy with quit big yeast particles in flow. Color was lovely orange colored. Aroma was extremely pleasing, with notes of pineapple, elderflower, floral, perfume and citrus. Underlying notes of caramel, apricot, peach, fruit, hint of liquorish, spice, yeast, coriander and clove. Very complex and very impressive mix of styles as both the IPA and Tripel comes through. Full bodied with lively carbonation and light dry and alcoholic texture. Well balanced moderated sweet and bitter flavor. Lovely sweet overripe fruit and lingering finish. Wow that was very nice.

Draught at Ma Che Siete Venuti a Fà, Roma. September 08. I was stoked to find this on draught. Pours hazy golden with a creamy white head. Nice lacing around the glass. Great aroma of caramel malt, fruit, spices and a splendid floral nose. The flavour is extremely well balanced of malt and fruit, and the alcohol is well hidden. Smooth mouthfeel, very malty and enough bitterness as well, a richly complex Tripel.

Gold-orange hazy beer with a nicely developed white creamy head. Nice hoparomas. Lemon, oranges and also grassy in the nose. I taste some acidity at first. Then the hopbitterness comes and lasts very long. Again nice fruitiness, but also grasses reappear.

Rating #450. Tap @ Monk’s Cafe, Philadelphia - pours a cloudy golden color with a large, lacy white head. Aroma is bread notes, banana, clove, and citrus hops, a very enticing prelude to the beer. The taste is incredibly unique - they really managed to marry the best bits of a tripel (smooth, banana/clove/bread/spice) with enough of an aftertaste of Citrus hops to keep it interesting. Fabulous beer that I can’t wait to have again.