Hello again good craft beer people.  Today I’m going to be trying the Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel produced by the Brasserie d’Achouffe located in Achouffe, Belgium.

I’ve yet to try a beer from Achouffe and I’ve heard so many good things about them, so I’m really excited about taste testing this brew.

From the website, achouffe.be, we find this description of the Houblon Chouffe. 

The HOUBLON CHOUFFE was brewed for the first time in 2006.  It is an ‘Indian Pale ale’ type of beer, with a harmonious balance between a marked bitterness (three types of hops are used to make it) and a pleasant fruitiness.  The HOUBLON CHOUFFE is unfiltered, and re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg. 

Let’s pour.

This brew poured from a 25.4 oz. bottle and it has an ABV of 9.0%.

The beer appeared to be very cloudy and yellow to gold in color.  Quite a bit of sediment was easily noticed as it settled to the bottom of the snifter.  From a very gentle pour a white head arose that was a little on the small side.  The texture was foamy, soapy, rocky and soft.  The retention time seemed pretty good and the lacing looked great. 

The aroma was a beautiful combination of orange zest and lemon peel.  It was very bright and lively.  Lightly spiced with what I thought to be both cloves and pepper.  Hints of freshly cut grass and Belgian yeast gave it that “earthy” tone and floral aromas kept things on an even keel while only the most minute amount of “funk” was noticed.  It didn’t stick around long though because a wonderful hop profile kept drawing me back.  A very, very nice bouquet on this beer.

The taste was very similar to the smell with only slight variations.  Again, citrusy notes of orange and lemon as well as some more of those grassy hops let a solid showing of bitterness tickle the tongue.  I noticed the peppery spice also, but instead of cloves it seemed to lean a little more towards coriander.  Who knows?  Either way they melded well with the overall taste profile.  A significant biscuity malt coalesced with the Belgian yeast to really “round off” the flavor.  Little to no alcohol was even noticed.  Very nicely balanced and tasty.

The mouthfeel was medium to medium/thin.  It presented a very lively carbonation.  It was snappy, but smooth, crisp, refreshing and darn near thirst quenching.  It wasn’t quite as dry as I was hoping, but that’s ok.  A decent amount of warmth was felt from both the spices and the alcohol and only an “ok” amount of flavor was left behind.  I was expecting a touch more considering, but no matter, it was still sufficient.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent beer.  My first experience with an Achouffe was not a let down.  The ease of drinkability was outstanding.  I finished this whole bottle in no time flat.  This brew had plenty of flavor as well as a wonderful aroma.  I could definitely see myself sitting down with this on a Summers night.  I’m gonna have to pick up another bottle or two that’s for sure.  I would have no problem recommending this to a craft beer friend, so pick up a bottle of the Achouffe Houblon Chouffe and give it a try.  I would love to hear what you think about it.

Thanks for reading and commenting guys.  I hope you all are still finding the reviews enjoyable.  I still have plenty more to come.  

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  4.15 out of 5
Grade:  A-