Westmalle Trappist Tripel
Brouwerij Westmalle

4.28/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

May 28, 2019 bottling date.
BB May 28, 2021

Taken from a 44°F fridge, pour begins after ~5+ min.

Aroma is banana, spices, floral, sweet malts.

Color is gold, slightly hazy, plenty of rising bubbles to a 1/2 inch white, thick, and creamy-appearing head from a fairly gentle pour, which quickly falls to a 1/4 inch thick creamy cap.

Taste is spicey backed by the fruit tastes - banana, perhaps other indistinct (apple, maybe), with a solid sweet-ish floral backing. The spiciness is very peppery, and the banana and apple(?) carry throughout. The floral breadiness adds a lift to the taste that is quite nice. Little alcohol present in the taste, but you can definitely feel it about half way through. Only a very slight bitterness in the beginning that is pretty much gone by the middle. The finish is sticky and semi-sweet.

Medium feel, tilting to the thin side, but the primary feel is the carbonation tingling counteracting the creamy smoothness.

Overall, dangerously too easy to drink quickly given the ABV; I needed to consciously slow down, because I found it too enjoyable; I just wanted to just sip, sip, and sip again. An excellent tripel.

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4.3/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

these damn belgians. found one that's only a few months old, poured slowly with love. a golden honey like color, the occasional bit floating through it, and with a pillowy white head that's still resting as a thick cap and leaving a mess in the glass. beautiful. nose is sugar-y bananas, cloves and good ol yeast. not much else going on but it's an aroma i'll always love. flavor has a bit more punch to it. bananas, cloves and various other spices, almost brown sugar, some bread-y malts and some slight tingling hop bitterness. there's a lingering yeast flavor in the back of the throat. not as hefty in body as i was expecting, quite smooth and almost thin but still nicely in the medium bodied range. nearly creamy and the stubborn foam cap reinforces that. dangerously hiding it's booziness. reminds me of a warm summer evening in a glass. shame i'd never grabbed one before but i'll be sure to make up for that again soon.

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4.24/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a bottle -opaque honey gold color with short white head leaving thin frosty lacing. Nose is a mix of floral,spice,yeast and banana. Taste follows with some sweetness and a bit of bitterness. Noticeable carbonation on the finish, no alcohol creep.

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4.13/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Serving Type: 330 mL Bottle

L- Pours a hazy pale amber topped by a fluffy two finger head that fades down to a 1/2 finger cap, which lingers for quite a good while.

S- Classic banana and cloves aroma with a floral edge

T- Much of the same with some bready malts tossed in. The hops aren't overpowering in the taste but do leave a little tickle in your throat. Nice and spicy

F- Thin-medium body, certainly one of the thinner Trappist Ale's that I've had in recent memory. Carbonation is moderate and smooth. Easy drinking

O- Approachable but very, very good Trappist Tripel Ale. Great flavour without being too complex or overwhelming

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4.75/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Scooped up a couple bottles of 2018 vintage, uncapped one tonight.

Yes, very very generous head, snowy. Look is golden, some bubbles and some slight particulates floating about. Bit of a floral, peppery nose - melange of spices - which the quaff surely follows.... slightly sweet, fragrant, bready with a bitter hoppy finish to assert itself at the back of throat upon swallowing. Maybe more complex than a (mere) Duvel in taste, look & feel, but i might like to blind taste-test the two for a more distinct comparison. As appreciation and reminiscence sets in, this reminding me quite a bit of the Moinette blonde (or even a certain favored-but-discontinued yeasty blonde ale from out of upstate NY).

It's nice, and nice to try. The remaining bottle shall stay with some of the other Trappists in my cellar treasure trove.

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4.02/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a goblet.

Look - Very frothy on the pour. A towering creamy white head atop a cloudy honey amber body. The head lingers around forever, a foamy crown to keep you company.

Smell - Bananas and cloves mostly. Clean, crisp, and clear. Strong but not overpowering. Could be a little more complex like some other trappist ales, but it's still good.

Taste - The smell translates pretty directly to the flavor, but some notes of vanilla and sour cream join the party.

Feel - Surprisingly thin body for the style. Carbonation is smooth and easy. No alcohol pungency, which is pretty good considering it's 9.5%.

Overall - For some reason, everything in this beer points me towards cream. It's enjoyable and easy going, and weirdly creamy. Not my favorite Belgian, but it's pretty tasty, and I find it hard to fault it.

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4.04/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Look: I guess I expected some sediment, it being Belgian? I think I just need to learn more about Tripels.

Smell: that wet smell that I associate with Belgians, and love. Yeast. Reminds me of a warm summer rain.

Taste: Not grain, but grass. I can convince myself there's the banana and clove you might expect. Apple and pear too. There's something i can't quite put my finger on, and if I keep taking sips, I'll never get to "Feel" and "Overall"

Feel: Very light, like the flavor. Aggressively carbonated. Although as it warms up, it gets a little thicker, more viscous, syrupy. Not what I would expect, but I kinda like it.

Overall: I guess I just don't know tripels that much; more used to quads. Not to say this is sessionable, but it's so light comparatively. It's just very different. But refreshing. This for lunch, a quad for dinner.

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4.36/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer remind me little the dubbel in the after taste and in general little bit but is not the same.. First the colour is Gold and the taste is more refreshing.. this beer is more bright against the dubbel.. Also has great carbonation and a decent taste.. Is all good around this beer... Has nothing to distract you.. Is very enjoyable and flow very easy in your month.. Despite the high alchohol you can drink it very easy.
Overall a really good and high quality beer.. Is refreshing, punchy and it taste like a true beer..

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4.26/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Hazy golden yellow with 2 fingers of off white foamy head.
Aroma sweet floral bready malt, caramel, banana, yeast, bit of apple.
Taste is bright hoppy yeasty banana, bready malt, brown sugar, hint of clove, and peppery spice with a bit of boozy burn.
Creamy soft smooth mouthfeel, perfect carbonation and leaving with a kiss of hoppy bitterness. Excellent.

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4.37/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

9.5% alcohol content. Nice thick foam that keeps its form. Pale gold slightly cloudy color. Malt, yeast, spice (pepper) and banana combo of aromas and flavour dominates. Bitterness elevated; some carbonation. Hidden behind some of this harshness is a smooth feel. Lots going on here and a little above my pay grade but I know it's very good.

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4.24/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

330 mL Bottle. ABV 9.5%.
Appearance: Veiled honey gold, Over a finger of off-white fluffy head, Slight carbonation, Dissipates fairly quickly.
Aroma: Green apple, White grape, Pear, Slight alcohol.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, Medium carb, Alcohol heat, Slightly sticky.
Flavour: Bananas, Spice, Pear, Bready malts.
Overall: This is an enjoyable beer with good complexity and balance. It is an excellent example of a Belgian Tripel. I'd love to have it again.

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4.39/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Yum. Strong abbey triple you would hope for from a trappist brewery in good ol' Belgium. High foam pour, golden color, smell the banana-alcohol strength, and then it bites at you a bit all the way down. Seriously, take a sip and let it ferment on your tongue, feel the burning sensation. A 9.5 out of 10...9.5% alcohol that is! My mom could have used this stuff to clean my scrapes when I was a kid! Sante!

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4.34/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from an 11.2 oz bottle best before 2020 bottle. Has a hazy orange yellow color with big enduring head and a lot of carbonation. Tastes of yeast bread and pepper. The alcohol is evident.

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4.5/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours an orange-amber with a thick foamy head giving way to moderate lacing. I had this in a tulip glass.
Smell is banana, sugar, yeast and alcohol.
Taste is sweet banana clove malt, with a peppery bittery and sweet fade.
The carbonation gives a lively feel. The alcohol sneaks up, the flavor and other sensory elements hide it well.
Overall a feast for the senses. Definitely a world class beer.

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4.31/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Look: Clear, pale gold; big, dense, white head.

Smell: Sugar, caramel, booze, bananas, spices.

Taste: The taste matches the smell, very strong. More of the booze and spice than sweetness.

Feel: Full bodied, normal carbonation.

Overall: Very good, though I personally might have liked just a little less spice and more sweetness as far as flavor goes.

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4.27/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Lightly hazed golden with one finger of dense white head. Good lacing appears as the slowly drops.
Smell is sweet malty candi sugar and light booze.
Taste is almost identical to the aroma. Sweet malts candi sugar some alcohol.
Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation. The finish is lightly dry and somewhat crisp.
Overall like a highly refined strong lager. Tasty but a sipper for sure. Best by date May 23, 2020.

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4.34/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Really tasty true Trappist ale, I think there are only 6 legitimate ones brewing ales. Pours golden yellowish with lots of head at the outset. Noticeable smell of sweet bread, spicy fruits and caramel. Big flavor punches of spice, cake, banana with plenty of malt and not overpowering yeast though noticeable. Nice feel in the mouth with the carbonation mixing nicely with all the flavors.



Overall: Complex, well-balanced, and surprising.

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4.34/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Best by March 2020. Dark orange in color with a murky, unfiltered appearance. Poured with a tall, rocky, creamy, off-white foam with excellent retention. Light bubble gum, fresh banana, and floral aromas with sugary fruit and caramel notes. Medium bodied with assertive, yet soft carbonation and pleasant, expanding warmth from the middle to the end. Fruity, malty and banana flavors up front with light bubble gum notes followed by medium light spicy bitterness. Malty and mellow peppery flavors on the back end that slowly expand to the end. Finished with light bubble gum and banana notes wrapped in spicy, peppery esters and a delayed dryness. Balance tips to the sweeter side with more fruity banana esters than spicy/peppery. Fabulous fresh aroma, feel and flavors.

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4.13/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Reviewed as part of BJCP training, 26C Belgian Tripel. Best before 7/03/19

Pours a large fizzy bubbly rocky head with decent lacing and nice retention, loads of sediment and fair haze, medium gold to straw color

Nose complex fruits out front, citrus mostly but some dried candied generic fruits, a bit of perfumey alcohol, mild spicy phenols much lower than expected, light grainy-sweet blond malts and touch of candi sugar sweetness, orange cake icing like, very mild background papery oxidation perhaps, also a touch of banana as it warms

Taste brings the citrus out front, with the sweet candy and malt it brings more icing covered orange cake flavors, more dried sweetened fruits, almost apricot like, peppery phenols are light, but perfumey spicy alcohol is not, mild grainy-sweet almost doughy malt, with mild candi sugar, a touch of spicy hops in there with medium to lighter bitterness, finishing a bit drier with lingering spicy hops and more yeast additions lingering, as well as some warming alcohol

Mouth is medium to fuller bod, seems sweet but isn't too much, mild warming spicy alcohol, very high effervescent carb

Overall not bad, doesn't seem as lively and fun as the Chimay version, and more alcohol as well, maybe it's on the older side, it is before the best by date but that could be set years out, but still a nice tripel

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4.33/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

11.2oz bottle bb 6/26/2020 poured into a Westmalle goblet at just above fridge temp 9.5% ABV. The beer pours hazy light amber with an orange tint and and a fair amount of yeast particulate. The head is nearly white in color and rises quickly with a gentle pour. It recedes to a thin cap of tiny bubbles leaving a full lacing. The aroma is banana and bubblegum with some spicy notes as well. The taste is candy like malt with immediate peppery notes and a finish that fades toward dry with a clove kick. Very little bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with well above average carbonation. It's never cloying or sugary sweet and the finish is amazingly dry for the initial feel. No perceptible alcohol in the taste or aroma. Overall, excellent. Fantastic beer and a standard for the style. I should have been even more gentle on the pour so I won't dock for the floaties. (Original review 2/25/19)

Second bottle with same date sampled 7/31/19. A gentle pour reduces, but doesn't eliminate the floaties.

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3.97/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

33cL bottle distributed in the Dutch Caribbean market, clearly not very fresh on the shelf, but still dated best before 12/12/19. Served in a tapered tumbler. Beer is turbid and yellow, within a small amount of white head. Aroma is yeasty and lemony, and maybe a bit of candied citrus peel in the nose. Flavor has a great spice to it, a bit of caramel sweetness, but a very dry finish. Residual carbonation is high, which helps to cut through the thick and creamy body, and elevate the fruity esters. No sign of ethanol anywhere. Not the most complex Belgian tripel, but this is a very, very good beer, not to mention a classic.

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4.33/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Date: Best by 09/25/2019, tasted on 01/09/19.

Appearance: This lovely looking triple pours a deep orange/copper color with tons of floating particulate and resultingly little light penetration. It also produced a chunky three plus fingers of fairly white colored head

Aroma: Loads of funky belgian yeast, white grape juice, clove, sweet sugary banana bread, and some light spicy notes.

Taste: Pow, this one is a good deal sweeter than I had anticipated. It starts off nice and dry, almost champagne like with that beauitiful yeast funk but then it turns. Briefly it hits on the apple and pear fruitiness before a large sweetness blindsides and carries through to the finish. I also get various spices throughout. The common triple bubblegum taste rears it head prominently on the aftertaste. As it warms, it dries out a little, just a little and some hoppy bitterness comes forward. Also, when at room temperature, all the different aspects and flavors really harmonize creating a beautifully balanced yet bold triple. Only minimal hints of the abv exist and mainly in the form of warmth more than burn or ethanol taste. The body is nice and full as well. This is a great triple, but what hurts it to some degree is the price, $7 for a 11.2oz bottle is rough when I can get a four pack of North Coast Pranqster for $10.

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3.71/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

원래 세종듀퐁이나 듀벨블론드같은 느낌의 맥주는 좋아하지 않았는데, 베스트말레 트리펠은 맛이 더 정제되었다고 해야되나.. 나쁘지 않게 먹을 수 있었다. 다만 천천히 음미하면서 먹어야지, 빠르게 먹기에는 조금 부담이 되는 맛이다. 거품의 유지력은 상당하며, 탁한 황금빛 액체에 효모 부산물들이 떠 있는게 보인다.

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4.01/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Light copper colored and hazy with plenty of sediment floating about. There's a fingernail of dishwater white around the rim and covering most of the top. The aroma is of light Belgian candy sugar and light sweet Belgian malt. I'm tasting sweet light Belgian malt and light Belgian candy sugar. The mouth is light, crisp, dry, and refreshing.

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4.43/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Amazing tripel! Poured from bottle to Westmalle chalice. I honesty can't believe I haven't had this one before, or at least I haven't written a review.
Classic tripel pour: clear, dark yellow, and effervescent. Lots of soapy foam. Big aromas of banana and bubble gum, bread and yeast cake.
Flavors explode: bubble gum, banana, clove, spice, bread. Sharp and clean. Prickly carb feel on the tongue.
Favor tripel ratings: Tripel Karmeliet, Dragonmead Final Absolution, Unibroue Fin Du Monde, then Westmalle.

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