Trappist Tripel
Brouwerij Westmalle

Pours a cloudy deep gold. Lots of head, which takes a bit to calm down. Yeasty and sweet aroma. Very caramelly flavor, slight banana notes, little bit of bitterness. Very creamy mouth feel. Excellent.

 

Poured from a 11.2 oz bottle with a packaging date of May 12 2025, best by May 12 2027. Poured into an Orval goblet.

Deep golden yellow color, clear, with a stream of bubbles from the bottom of glass. There is an inch plus of a dense white head. Excellent head retention. Sheets of lacing on the glass.

Fresh smelling lemon, also pepper notes, light banana and herbal, grassy hops.

Flavors of pepper, lemon, herbal hops, some bready malt notes also. Alcohol is very well hidden. Mild bitterness on the sip but builds on the finish. Perfect balance, not sweet yet not too dry.

Medium body. Lively carbonation on the palate.

Exceptional beer. This is the benchmark from which all other Tripels are measured.

A 25.4 oz bottle poured into Belgian glass chalice.

Appearance - Yellowish orange color. Somewhat opaque. Big, frothy head that settles down after a bit. Some lacing. A fine looking ale.

Nose - Bananas. Bubble gum. Sweet. Slightly herbal.

Taste - Sweet! Taffy. Lemon drops. Like the nose, slightly herbal. There’s a mild Belgian funky yeast flavor on the backend. Delicious and easy drinking (despite the high abv).

Mouth - Smooth. The finish is a touch fizzy.

Overall - I used to be a reinheitsgebot guy. Then the wife and I spent a week in Ghent/Brussels. I now love many of these crazy, wonderful Belgian beers. Westmalle Triple is one of the ales that got my attention on our trip. It’s world class!

P.S. But I still lean towards the water, malt, hops, yeast, and nothing else beers.

 

 

Bottling date: 1-25 Best By date: 1-27. This seems pessimistic to me as I've had much older examples that were stellar.
Slightly hazed but clear, golden amber color with streaming carbonation and a tall,frothy, dense head of bright white foam that left drapes of thick lace.
Aroma is surprisingly weak but still sweet and fruity with hints of yeasty funk and alcohol.
The flavor is deep, rich and interesting. Initially sweet with sugar coated fruit, apples and pears, melon and lemon then wet leather, black pepper and tangy notes of cabbage and clover.
Herbaceous and savory hop character blends seamlessly with the sweet ale fruit complexity.
Body is medium pushing to full as it warms, dominant flavors changing and mingling with the effusive carbonation.
The finish is long and peppered with hop bite and juiced apples.
World Class stuff.

 

Copenhagen 7/2 2016. 33 cl bottle from Meny, Østerfælled Torv, Kbh. Ø. Simple off-white label in Westmalle's usual design.

Pours hazy golden yellow with a frothy white head. Settles as 1,5 cm thick layer of foam covering the surface of the beer. Substantial lacing.

Fruity aroma dominated by citrus and banana. Belgian yeast coming through as well. Whiff of musty cellar.

Medium strong carbonation and oily palate. Slightly thick, lightly tingling texture.

Flavor follows the nose. Sweet banana, black pepper, citrus, yeast and good long lasting bitterness lingering in the aftertaste. Hides the high alcohol content very well.

A fine specimen. I wish I bought a bigger bottle. But then I would probably have been half drunk by now.

Very plain and lacking character.

Drinking out of a small goblet.
Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a full dense head.
Smells of sour Brett.
Nice mouth feel, soft and fuzzy on the tongue.
Nice sour taste of Brett. Some suggestion of biscuits.

 

Light gold. Enormous amounts of carbonation. Absurd. And it doesn’t hide the alcohol well. It’s a bit like jet fuel. Some almond taste. That’s about it. It’s rough around the edges and in my opinion way way overhyped.

 

Pours a hazy yellow color with a thick white head on top. Strong banana yeast aroma. Taste is like how it smells, banana and nut taste with light acidity.

Bought at Bottlecraft in North Park San Diego. ~$7.5 for 11.2 oz bottle. Bottled 05/12/25. Sat out at RT for about 20 minutes before pouring into a Spiegelau wheat glass.

A&S: Good crack when opening. Very lively carbonation. Merigold yellow translucent colored beer. Sediment sinkers are at the bottom of the glass. The aroma contains cloves, herbs, yeast, and slight grape must.

T&M: Taste contains banana, citrus, bready malt, lime, spice, and caramel notes. ABV is well hidden. Good balance between having a slight bitter citrus tones finish and fruit esters upfront. Crisp, dry-ish, and refreshing, especially for its ABV and medium body.

Overall: Very good. I think I may slightly prefer Karmeliet with price in consideration, but they are pretty close.

Somewhat hazy golden color with a massive and lasting head with plenty of nice lacing.
The aroma is bananas,white grapes with a yeasty hint of cloves.
The taste very light malt, cloves, bananas, white grapes, citrus and a touch of alcohol, very lightly sweet, finishes dry with some citrus and floral notes. The body is light/medium, very well carbonated, silky smooth, subdued but appreciated ABV, very, very drinkable.
Altogether, this is a very tasty and enjoyable brew, could go with hearty or holiday fare, but is worth enjoying just by itself, outstanding.

Poured from a bottle into a glass. Golden cloudy color with full foamy head that lingers. Sweet smell of wheat and bananas. A smooth classic wheat taste.

Poured from an 11.2-oz bottle into a Westmalle-branded chalice.

Look: Bubble-filled yellow gold with a massive white head with very good retention, requiring multiple pourings to empty the bottle. Nice lacing.

Nose: Lightly roasted malt, a little lemon citrus, and a bit of alcohol.

Taste: Sweet malt dominates the attack, and the bit of lemon citrus balances it. Finishes with a slight bitterness reminiscent of perhaps lemon zest. Alcohol warms on the way down.

Mouthfeel: Medium thick, just a bit more carbonation than I’d prefer.

Overall: This is absolutely a superior beer; I would enjoy it even more were the carbonation a bit less — I find the terrific flavor a bit masked by the level of carbonation.

Cloudy yellow with lots of carbonation bubble. There's a strong citrus banana yeast smell with outdoorsy yeast. It's a balanced flavour with excellent carbonated mouthfeel despite the alcohol. The flavour subdues the banana to a certain extent and balances it with citrus. There's a slightly floral finish. Great!