By Greg B. So in my quest to sample and enjoy all the Belgian Trappist ales, I found a nice bottle of Westmalle tripel. Situated on the north, middle part of Belgium, Westmalle once again matches that Belgian monastery simple and elegant beer style with a very complex and creative beer, a staple for local and foreign beer drinkers.

Like Achel, the Germans destroyed the brewery in World War I (though again, not in WWII, so hopefully they learned a valuable lesson the first time around). The monastery has it’s origins when monks fled France during the French revolution, after the state confiscated most of the church-owned land and also pursued monks with deadly intent (this is a pity, since France currently has pretty awful beer, and could have had the trappist beer tradition going strong, sans interruption). Westmalle monks initially were headed for America (I’m sorry they didn’t make it!) but ended up settling in Belgium and founded their monastery in 1836. They brew three beers, an extra, a dubbel and a triple, utilizing local malts and different fermentation/secondary temperatures to modify the activity of their yeast, and change the characteristics of their beers.

Having a bottle of the triple, I chilled it for 2 hours in the fridge and then pulled it 30 minutes before company arrived, just to let some of the chill off and help the aromatic component. The bottle is simply labeled, non-offensive or catchy colors and containing only the most essential of information (Westmalle… Tripel… Trappist). Coming in at 9.6%abv, this is a bit of a strong beer, as a tripel would be, but I looked forward to something to warm myself up.

The beer poured a light and hazy light golden yellow or honey color. It had a good (typical) amount of head, very white and light, which rose quickly and lingered for a while. There was definitely a strong yeast component to the nose, with an alcohol finish that matched right into the smell of the lighter (pilsner?) malts. There is a mild hop aroma which is a bit sweeter for hops, rather than the piney style.

To taste, this beer is pretty good. There is a stronger light sugar or Belgian candi flavor at the start, with a strong alcohol finish. The beer itself is a bit chewy, but not too bad, and this probably helps you take your time with it, since the sweetness and the high alcohol force you to slow down a bit and make this a sipping beer. The thickness of the malts really do come through, which is good since the sugar to alcohol conversion did not leave the beer watered down by any means. There is a bitter/tart note to the beer as well on the taste, but it is mild and helps mediate some of the sweeter components of the beer.

Overall, this is a powerful beer that deserves to be respected. However, it is not my favorite of the Belgians so far. It is a very nice beer, a complex beer made from simple components and I certainly appreciate the effort that went into making this. I think, for my personal style, that I may prefer the dubbel more, as it uses darker malts and is a generally darker beer, which I tend to drink most of the time. I would rate this beer a 3.8, and will try it in a smaller bottle next time (I tried the 75cc bottle, not the 33), as I had heard reports that the larger bottle has a more mild and toned down flavor and aromatic profile compared to the smaller bottle.