Belgian Tripels

In 1842, Pilsener Urquell started a revolution in European beer when it introduced its clear golden lager beer. Beers no longer had to be dark and cloudy or be hidden in pewter, wood or earthenware drinking vessels. The new clear golden beers began to be served in glasses and became all the rage in Europe. Everyone wanted pilsners. Darker beers - including many of the great traditional beers of Belgium - were waning in popularity. Belgian brewers needed to find ways to compete. In the early 1930s, brewing scientist and yeast specialist Hendrik Verlinden of the Drie Linden brewery experimented with a golden ale, to compete with pilsners and other popular golden lagers. In 1932, he released Witkap Pater, a tripel ale. He also helped the Westmalle Trappist brewery develop their Tripel, which they had been working on for some time.

Enter Westmalle Tripel

In the first half of the 20th century, it was commonplace for Trappist breweries to name their beers based on strength with the designations Enkel (single), Dubbel and Tripel - corresponding to 3, 6 and 9 percent alcohol. All three strengths would have been darker beers. When Westmalle released its first Tripel in 1934, it was a strong golden beer - and proved to be a real game-changer. In 1956, Westmalle changed the recipe slightly to include more hops and it has remained unchanged since then. To this day, many consider Westmalle Tripel to be the standard by which all other tripels are measured. And, there are many to be measured - from Trappist, abbey, secular and American craft breweries.

Some of Belgium’s Finest Tripels

Bruz Tripels

Here at Bruz Beers, we love Tripels. Over the years, we have brewed more than a half-dozen Tripels. Bruz Tripel is our flagship. It is the result of a great deal of experimentation and refinement. Long Day Tripel is very similar to Bruz Tripel, but is boiled for six to eight hours, which caramelizes sugars and gives the beer a light amber color and a creamy head. Both of these beers are, at the time of this writing, available in each of our taprooms. Bruz Long Day Tripel recently a gold medal from the Untapped Community as the best Tripel in Colorado.

Tripel Characteristics

Tripels are strong beers that range from bright yellow to deep golden in color, with a big, dense, creamy head. They have a phenolic spiciness, fruity yeast esters, and complex aroma with a distinct Belgian yeast character. They are malty and evenly balanced with hops and alcohol. Tripels get their rich maltiness from a high percentage (as high as 100%) of Belgian pilsner malt with a small percentage of specialty malts such as aromatic and light crystal. Some tripels - like Tripel Karmeliet - add small portions of wheat and oats as well. Tripels also include as much as 20 percent Belgian candi sugar (caramelized beet syrup) to lighten the body of the beer and produce a clean, dry finish. Tripels are typically in the 8 to 12 percent alcohol range. They have a complex, rich, sweet, malty flavor that finishes dry and clean.

Tripels have substantial bitterness - up to 40 IBUs. The hops and the malt are generally in balance with additional bitterness provided by the alcohol, which tends to stay well-hidden. Hops are typically floral and herbal varieties from Germany, England, France, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. Belgian yeast definitely leaves its mark on tripels with spicy phenols (clove, pepper) and fruity esters (apple, pear, apricot, orange). Some brewers add small amounts of spice (most often coriander and bitter orange peel) to their brew kettles for added depth of complexity, but most do not. Most Belgian tripels are bottle conditioned (naturally carbonated in the bottle), which produces a soft texture, gentle carbonation, big pillowy head and added complexity.

 Tripels are truly majestic ales. Both simple and complex, with high alcohol and restrained intensity, Tripels are among Belgium’s – and the world’s - finest beers.