Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

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

Re-rate: Originally tasted in February. Perhaps my palate was off at the time, or the bottle was oxidized. Either way.....Another tasting was definitely in order. Pour is a cloudy golden color with lots of sediment. Aroma....spice, yeast, lemon, hops. Big rocky head. Flavor is light, crisp and refreshing. Sweet with a hop spice and hints of lime and orange zest. Very well-balanced and smooth, leaving a sticky mouthfeel and lingering/light hop kick after each sip. The hop presence is somewhat subdued to me. This is more like a 75/25 with the scale tilted to the tripel side: Seeing as how this is from Belgium and it’s brewed in the Belgian style, I’m sure it’s supposed to come across that way. A really great brew, especially for the summer.

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!!

Bottle. This pours a translucent golden with a good amount of sediment and some thick, white head. The lacing is pretty decent as well. The aroma is a blast of an orange-y sweetness with banana, orange, pineapple, and hops. The flavour is very full. Citrus-y flavours are pretty strong as well as a lot of hops. It’s also very sweet, but in a natural fruit sweetness kind of way. The finish is smooth and sweet with some light bitterness. This is a perfect combination of the delicate flavours of the Tripel mixed with the bold flavours of an IPA. The hops are strong, but not overpowering. This is very delicious.

Medium yellow color - very lively & thick head with lovely lacing. Aroma is fruity and slightly estery with a hint of perfumy flowers. Flavor is somewhat rich and hoppy - with a nice malt backbone to balance it out. Silky, and surprisingly smooth. Finish is basically dry. Enjoyed it.

Pale golden yellow with a beautiful thick and cloudy head. Nose has suprisingly authentic IPA-like hoppiness, grassy and sweet fruity aromas with some wheaty tripel. Flavor strongly hopped with sweet maltiness. Finishes drier, with more of the tripel spiciness. Almost full bodied with quite strong but smooth carbonation. Exotic and sweet, a delicious symbiosis.

whether a beer is delicious or not is irrelevant when you attempt to measure how successful a beverage is in delivering what it advertises. this beer gets a 100% in both categories. aroma is super yeasty like a saison with a just a touch of that belgian spice. this is so dry and lacks the fruit i typically associate with an abbey brew, its much more saison like. dry as a bone but clobbers you with hops like an imperial IPA. the hop bitterness tempers the other qualities in a way ive never experienced before and which probably rarely exists elsewhere. when i read the description on the back of the bottle i was blown away, from another brewery besides achouffe i wouldnt have believed it. clearly i had good reason to this time because they have made good on their promises! the sensation of hops i associate with american craft brews along side belgian yeast is amazing! this is one of the best executed beers ive had in a long time.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with the IPA/Tripel thing but this beer was not only interesting to try but also quite good. Pours a golden, perhaps light orange color with a huge fluffy head. Tons of lacing. Aroma is heavy malty with perfume and some light floral hopping. The flavor is fruity, a bit tangy, with yeast and hop bitterness hitting following the fruity esters. Light numbing and a bit dry in the finish. Definitely seems more Tripel than IPA to me but an interesting blend of flavors that really does work.

Golden hazy with giant foamy head that lasts forever, aroma of banana mandarin and some herbs, pangency bites your tongue, flavors of grapefruit honey and dry hoppy finish. Great