Belgian Tripel

A tripel pours deep yellow to pale amber, with a tall white head that leaves lace on the glass. The Belgian yeast brings pepper and clove, orange and lemon, sometimes ripe banana; the malt adds a soft, honeyed sweetness; the hops give a firm bitterness and a dry finish. At 7.5–9.5% alcohol it carries more strength than it shows, and the best examples hide it well.

Where it comes from

The Trappist monks of Westmalle, north of Antwerp, brewed their tripel inside the abbey walls in 1934. Today the brewery lists it at 9.5% alcohol, 38 units of bitterness and a colour of 11 EBC, refermented in the bottle and sold unpasteurised. Westmalle made the style popular, and other abbeys and secular brewers took it up.

Brewers start from pale pilsner malt and add pale sugar, which raises the alcohol without making the beer heavy. The yeast does the rest. A few breweries add a pinch of spice; the classic tripels leave the spice to the yeast.

How to serve it

Pour it into a chalice or a tulip glass at 4–7 °C, and leave the yeast sediment in the bottle unless you like it. The high carbonation lifts the aroma and keeps the beer dry on the tongue. Try it with roast turkey, a triple-cream cheese or a crème brûlée.

Next to its neighbours

A tripel resembles a Belgian golden strong ale but runs a little darker and fuller, with more spice from the yeast and less fruit, and fewer late hops. A dubbel, from the same abbeys, is darker, maltier and less strong.

Belgian Tripel in numbers

Classic example

Westmalle

Original gravity

1.075–1.085

Final gravity

1.008–1.014

Westmalle Tripel

9.5% ABV; 38 EBU bitterness; 11 EBC colour; refermented in the bottle

Food

Roast turkey; triple-cream cheese; caramelised banana, crème brûlée

Classic examples

Westmalle Tripel; Chimay Tripel; La Trappe Tripel; St. Bernardus Tripel; Val-Dieu Triple; La Rulles Tripel

BJCP style

26C Belgian Tripel

Sources

Checked October 29, 2026.

1. 26C. Belgian Tripel, 2021 Beer Style Guidelines — Beer Judge Certification Program
2. Belgian-Style Tripel — CraftBeer.com, Brewers Association
3. Westmalle Tripel — Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle