This one looked awfully intriguing calling from the shelves, what with a happy 'lil gnome on the label and the words "dobbelen" (double), "IPA" (IPA") and "Tripel" (the famous hop-heavy Belgian beer style). Well folks, it was. It came shooting out of the bottle into the glass like a sugared-up 7-year-old at SplashWorld water park, and the head it surrendered was something to behold. In the glass I'd estimate it was about 1/4 beer, 3/4ths foam, and even a mouthful o' foam tasted real, real good while I waited for it to settle. Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel is a product of the Brasserie d'Achouffe in Belgium, and it appears that all of their labels features this gnomic character. I wonder what he makes of the 9% ABV on this thing. What made this one better and perhaps more drinkable than a lot of the American Double IPAs is the fact that it gives off more of a fruit/floral taste to counteract the hops, and unlike overpowering drinks like MOYLANS' excellent Hopsicle, this isn't a cloudy, impenetrable beer. It looks like it tastes - simple, sweet, and robust. I gave it a 7/10 and marveled at how many likely fantastic Belgian beers there are left to enjoy and evaluate - just those imported to the United States alone will keep me busy for a couple years.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
HOUBLON CHOUFFE DOBBELEN IPA TRIPEL
This one looked awfully intriguing calling from the shelves, what with a happy 'lil gnome on the label and the words "dobbelen" (double), "IPA" (IPA") and "Tripel" (the famous hop-heavy Belgian beer style). Well folks, it was. It came shooting out of the bottle into the glass like a sugared-up 7-year-old at SplashWorld water park, and the head it surrendered was something to behold. In the glass I'd estimate it was about 1/4 beer, 3/4ths foam, and even a mouthful o' foam tasted real, real good while I waited for it to settle. Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel is a product of the Brasserie d'Achouffe in Belgium, and it appears that all of their labels features this gnomic character. I wonder what he makes of the 9% ABV on this thing. What made this one better and perhaps more drinkable than a lot of the American Double IPAs is the fact that it gives off more of a fruit/floral taste to counteract the hops, and unlike overpowering drinks like MOYLANS' excellent Hopsicle, this isn't a cloudy, impenetrable beer. It looks like it tastes - simple, sweet, and robust. I gave it a 7/10 and marveled at how many likely fantastic Belgian beers there are left to enjoy and evaluate - just those imported to the United States alone will keep me busy for a couple years.
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1 comment:
This is a very good brew, I just had it for the first time myself the other night. I'd recommend De Ranke XX Bitter if you liked this one. There's also Urthel Hop It!, which is another hoppy Belgian brew that I have yet to try! Cheers.
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