Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

Hazy pale yellow pour with a large rocky, yet creamy, everlasting white head. Typical tripel aromas - citrus, yeast, and alcohol. If you dig around you’ll get a nice hoppyness underneath. More hop flavor than the nose suggests, and I found the orange flavor to be stronger as well. Quite a dry finish. Excellent blend of an IPA and a tripel. Why don’t more brewers make a similar style?

11.2 ounce bottle from Whole Foods in Hillcrest ($4.99). What the...?!?! Absolutely came gushing out of the little bottle and I lost about a third of it. Anyway, pours a murky apricot color with (of course) big white head. Aroma is bready malts, yeast, spice, some fruit (banana, citrus). Flavor has a noticeable hop "bite" (lemon, other citrus) but with very balanced rich malt flavors. Also some spice and yeast. Finish is dry with a nice mixture of sweetness and bitterness. The aroma is more consistent with the tripel while the flavor is a nice combination of the two. Probably the best marriage of the two styles that I’ve had. Very good.

Bouteille de 750ml nouvellement arrivée à la SAQ. Blonde dorée, asser pétillante et très mousseuse. La mousse, abondante, colle bien au verre et offre des saveurs agréable d’houblon frais. En bouche, on dirait une bonne tripel fraiche et forte en alcool. En finale, le houblon se fait de plus en plus présent et la IPA fait surface. Très bon mélange entre une tripel et une IPA.

Very pale golden yellow color. Nice big head with good retention and excellent lacing. Hops, hops and more hops. Bright hoppy nose. Nice spicy and floral notes. Sweet sugars and malts are buried down in there somewhere. Only mildly detectable. Sweet candy sugar and maltiness are overpowered (slightly) by dominant hops. There is a nice level of balance here. Light spiciness and some minimal floral notes. Nice creamy mouthfeel of a tripel with a little spicy hop bite. Interesting. Very good, very drinkable beer. Well balanced. A very interesting new beer experiment. Well done.

courtesy of Toni Flükiger - hazy golden-blond colour with a bright and firm white foam; solid fruity hoppiness (grapefruit and apple), citrus and esters; medium to full malt body, quite sweet with a late bitterness; long aromatic bitter fruity finish - a very nice beer; refreshing and lively; the missing link between IPA’s and tripels

Ridiculous, robust, rocky head that settles into a kind of a maringue on top of the straw-colored beer. Strong, bitter Saaz-y nose. Very nice flavor--sweet and bready, some hints of tart cider, and a strong dry, nutty bitterness. Good chewy mouthfeel.

Yes! The commercial description tells the truth. This is an ezxtremely hoppy beer, very bitter but still light in ts appearance and aroma. A stiff frothy head, grassy fragrance and a long lingering dry - but not drying - finish. Not a compromise, but a union of different goodies.

Aroma of yeast and light banana. Suggests a spicy hefeweisen! Slightly hazy beautiful golden glow. The head disipated quickly, leaving lacing in the snifter. Starts with banana, and a whole lot of other things, light malt follows, and it ends with sweetish hop. This is very confusing. It’s wonderful, providing the hop a hop head wishes, but not so strong as to overpower the malt. And it seems to be simultaneously sweet and dry. Unique. For now.