Beer – #248 – Duvel – Tripel Hop 2012 (Citra)
I’ve been putting this aside, until now, because I wanted to get to 250 beers with a splash. I have an Epic Epicurean Coffee & Fig Oatmeal Stout, and a draft Epic Hop Zombie to get me there. I had to put off a couple of other beers too that I’ve been looking forward to drinking for the right occasion. And I also picked up a Moa 10 Ale, which is a Cherry Lambic wild/sour beer. It’s like I can’t control myself in the beer chiller.
Anyway, Duvel Tripel Hop 2012 (Citra), a beer no longer available, limited edition an all, Formerly brewed at Duvel Moortgat in the style of a Belgian Strong Ale and of all places in Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium.
The first two batches of Duvel Tripel Hop were brewed with Saaz-Saaz, Styrian Golding and Amarillo. From now on Duvel Tripel Hop will have a different hop every year that will be added in the brewing process as well as being used for dry hopping.
For 2012 this hop is Citra.
The aromatic Citra hop cultivated in the Yakima Valley of Washington State, USA. Citra is new world hop renowned for citrus fruit flavours such as lime and grapefruit along with tropical fruit aromas of passion friut, peach and lychee. It is also added differently in a process called ‘dry-hopping’ whereby whole hop heads are added at a later stage in the brewing process resulting in a rich, bold hop flavour with increased bitterness (IBU 44).
My 750ml bottle is a 9.5% ABV beer, and with 44 IBU which is higher than for a normal Tripel which could come in put o 40 IBU. In NZ this then is 5.62 standard drink units.
Presented in a well packaged and delivered foil covered cork and cage, lots of rich gold foil. Justification for the cost 🙂
Really nice burst of the Citra hops on opening this, pours pale yellow, with a small but interesting head, a really nice wash of aromas. I could of course be being lyrical because I think this is really good. Patience.
Settles to a subtly strong yeast note, really full mouthfeel, has lots of the character you’d expect, musty, sour, citrus, but has a very dry finish.
Does not have a warm malt carry that could be expected, and so then this is carried by the top sourness.
I’m not enjoying this as much as I talked myself into 🙂 and we’ve all done that before. So not as spectacular and fireworks as I thought, but then who knows what I thought, the only other person that I know who has drunk this said it was as good as the normal Duvel, should have listened to them,.
The pdubyah-o-meter says that this is a 7.5 better than good, less than great. At this point I have to say that the alcohol might be kicking in and making me smile.
But I’m left with a few regrets and more observations. This might not have sat well, even though it can’t have been a long time, it may have lost something in the couple of month in the fridge, yes I’m a complete n00b I kept it in the fridge, cold, like you do with beer. It isn’t as warm or malty as I might have thought it was going to be, it was paler and more yellow like straw than I thought it was going to be, it still has a head even though I drank that whole glass.
I shall sit an pander then, what was the best thing before sliced bread, and what would chairs look like if our knees bent the other way for a bit.
The background to my evening this evening has been the summer sunset, cats charging about after insects and the odd skink, and a very fine couple of album records from Lee Fields who’s a bit better than James Brown – hush my mouth.
Off to incinerate some foods on the bbq. Enjoy the setting sun, and get my groove on. possibly in that order.
Related articles
- Beer – #235 – Tuatara – Belgian Tripel – Redux (pdubyah.com)
- Recipe – Citra-Simcoe Indian Pale Ale (halffullpint.wordpress.com)
- Ode to Duvel (jazzyritmo.wordpress.com)
- Moab Brewery Desert Select Tripel (samplingcraft.wordpress.com)
A life just as ordinary 
Had a pretty bad run since the day of the dead. I couldn’t find anything interesting so i am kicking back with a couple of my go to fall back, Coopers best extra stout, you might try it, http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/coopers-best-extra-stout/1590/
LikeLike
p.s. the Epic Coffee and fig is a goer as far as I’m concerned, the Hop Zombie is a bit overpowering for my palate.
LikeLike