Beer - #317 - Chouffe - Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel

Beer with the longest name award contender "Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel"

Brewed by Brasserie d’Achouffe (Moortgat) in the style of an Abbey Tripel and they do that in Achouffe, Belgium

330ml bottle of a 9%ABV beer, in NZ thats 2.34 standard drinks, 59 IBUS, and 270 calories.

59 IBU is somewhat more than a Stout and a skerrick less than a IPA.



This is very highly rated

A unique marriage between the English tradition of IPAs, the new American revolution of Imperial IPAs and the classic Belgian way of brewing. Houblon Chouffe, although very much hopped as it is, showcases the unique balance between a very strong IPA and a very special Belgian Tripel exclusively created for this ale (Big malty body,  distinct dryness, expressive estery fruitiness). - IBU: 59, Original Gravity: 1092



So, I know it's early for me on a Saturday, but I was beer free on Friday for a thing, and so I've made myself a dispensation.

Familiar fruity type aroma on opening, slightly sour. Orange golden poor with a small head, which is persistent, aroma settles to a sweeter flatter note.

I thought that this tasted more sour than hop bitter. I enjoyed the nice malt though but this isn't enough to carry it to a long finish. Nice  mouthfeel though, great lacing and the head is still in order.

You can tell it's a Belgium beer, that's not in question, the take on an IPA is something else, it certainly elevates the profile away from the malts into the bitterness.

It isn't a bad beer to start with.

I would though have enjoyed this more with some food accompaniment to accentuate it and help it shine more.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this in its arbitrary way, as it does, and this time it stops at 7 on the scale of things. 7 is good but this doesn't rock my boat or lead me to thinking that "why didn't they think of this before?" thinking.

As it warms in the glass it does get somewhat harsher on the finish, and all in all a mixed bag.

A bit like the music for this, which today is on vinyl machine behind me, and the album being flipped  is "New Orleans Funk - 1960-74" This is one of the arbitrarily chosen tracks.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvRd8DiZ7Mc&w=480&h=360]

ABBEY TRIPEL

Like other abbey ales, Tripels are strong, yeasty-malty beers. But they are also pale, and have a notable hop profile. Hop bitterness may be higher than a typical abbey ale, up to 35IBUs. But the finish is where the hops really shine, as tripels should finish fairly dry. Otherwise, maltiness is still essential to the style, and the assertive yeast note typical of all abbey ales will be more apparent in tripels, since they do not have the rich dark malts to distract the palate. Alcohol flavours feature more prominently in Tripels that in just about any other style.

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Beer – #124 – Mc Chouffe

Mc Chouffe. That's it's name. Brewed by Brasserie d’Achouffe (Moortgat) in the style of a  Belgian Strong Ale and that's all done in Achouffe, Belgium

750ml bottle of an 8% ABV dark beer - the Mc CHOUFFE is an unfiltered dark beer, which is re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg. Behind its fruity flavour a slight hint of bitterness may be found.

I have an expectation of a toffee coloured beer, with a similar taste, malty, sweet, and fruity.

It's a lot darker than I expected, but it is a "Brune" beer so that's not such a surprise, the head is nice foamy and dark, and stays with the beer. There is nothing in the aroma to give away what is to come, if anything it smells of musty yeast.

There is a fair whack of carbonation that surprises the palate and this seems to mask the taste of the beer that you're drinking. The malt isn't very strong and you can get the alcahol bitterness of this beer. It's not wholly unpleasant just surprising.

So where am I at with this. I think like the Le Chouffe this is a beer that isn't a leader, or setting a mark that others have to get to. It's a middle of the road offering,  nothing to see here, move along.  This isn't a beer that I'd share with others, it's not something that I'd be trying to impress you with. As a beer this lacks the sugary malty front taste, has too much carbonation and doesn't carry very well to a finish.

However! for an 8% strong ale this is guaffable and could get you into trouble if you let it get carried away with you. The pdubyah-o-meter says 7.5 is a good mark to give, and at that mark there are a lot of beers that I wouldn't dink in favour of this.

Given the beers of a similar  type that come to mind, such as Duvel, Chimay, Leffe or Maredesous this doesn't fare as well.  It's a likeable beer, well made and rounded, but it's not a "A" student

Beer - #123 - La Chouffe

Simply " La Chouffe " Brewed by Brasserie d’Achouffe (Moortgat) in the style of a Belgian Strong Ale and of all places in Achouffe, Belgium.

As a treat for completing over 100kms of walking exercise this month I've gone and decided that a thirsty Thursday beer is in order

Bottle conditioned.
Golden Ale, strong, spicy, lightly hoppy, with evolving taste. Natural beer, bottle conditioned, unfiltered, not pasteurised and without any additives

750mls of an 8% ABV beer, which is just under 5 standard drink units.

Fantastic fruity sweet aroma, highly carbonated, brilliant white fluffy head, the sweetness dies to a yeasty aroma though, the head settles back. Nice darker golden colour with cloudiness.

Initially this is bitter on the palate, sour bitter, not lemon bitter,  but then wait the taste of the fruits shine through, the lemons again, and there might be honey, which is nice.

This isn't remarkable though, it's accomplished and a nice beer, it's not outstanding,  it's not needing you to think about what you're drinking. But it never kicks on and resolves itself to a slightly bitter finish leaving you a bit ambivalent.

The pdubyah-o-meter says 7.5 on the scale of things, it's better than average and less than good. I'm going to kick back and supp this and feel happy about my 100kms, that I chose a beer that overall brought me a smile and not a frown and look forward to the McChouffe that I have in the fridge for another day.

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