Brasserie d'Achouffe - Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel

Tonight I'll be drinking a big bottle of brew straight from Belgium - the Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel - which translated into English means.... hoobly choofly dobbly Tripel IPA.  Just kidding!  I have no idea what it means!  This brewery was founded by two brothers-in-law back in 1982, and has slowly grown through Europe and beyond, now shipping to 20 countries worldwide.  The Houblon Chouffe was first created back in 2006, with the idea that they would take an unfiltered, bottle-conditioned Belgian Tripel, throw some American hops in there, and see what happens.

The label on this brew shows a little knome/elf dude picking hop flowers from a garden.  It also lists the 9% ABV, and a little story on the back which is pictured below.  The beer is a cloudy light golden color with a cob-web layer of white head the leaves a lot of lace behind.  The aroma brings loads of citrus and florals, with some yeast funk behind it.  Fruity smells with apricots and grapes, almost reminds me of champagne.  The flavor starts off light and crisp, with a decent amount of bitterness up front.  Citrus takes center stage, with lemon rinds and bitter orange peels, very zesty. This is complimented by a softer peach flavor, and then transitions over to a light biscuit maltiness.  Some warming alcohol comes next.  The finish brings it full circle back to the citrus zest, with a pleasant dryness that leaves me ready for the next drink.

Overall Rating:  This is a phenomenal beer.  It doesn't compare to American belgian IPAs - the Tripel base really stands out and gives it another level of complexity that American interpretations just don't offer.  Epic beer - highly recommend it!  A

Sorry, very tough to read - my iPhone camera sucks!