I'll Have a Beer » Chouffe http://haveabeer.couchand.com For all who appreciate the fermented majesty. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:22:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 IPA Week: Houblon Chouffe http://haveabeer.couchand.com/2009/07/01/ipa-week-houblon-chouffe/ http://haveabeer.couchand.com/2009/07/01/ipa-week-houblon-chouffe/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:01:59 +0000 couch http://haveabeer.couchand.com/?p=747 2009-07-01-chouffeAll the beers from Brasserie d’Achouffe in The Ardennes of Belgium are named something with “chouffe”, Flemish for gnome or elf. Today I’m having Houblon Chouffe, or “Hop Elf”. This beer is labeled a Dobbelen IPA Tripel, so it’s a hybrid style that takes inspiration from both American Double IPAs and Belgian tripels.

The Houblon Chouffe is a turbid yellow gold. The head is massive, pillowy, and white. The aroma is complex and compact, a wonderful marriage between an IPA and a tripel. The tripel character is just a bit more prominent, possibly because the bottle is not entirely fresh (thank you, Iowa ABD). The nose is strongly peppery, with toasty malt and an herbal and earthy hop presence.

The taste is immediately a bit bitter and a bit alcoholic. Some pale malt flavor comes out as well. Earthy hops provide a background that indicates it really is half of an IPA. It grows just a little sweeter through the taste, and it’s not too active so the palate is quite creamy.

All in all a tasty beer.

+Houblon Chouffe

3.7 (5-8-6-4-14)

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