We are all familiar with Westmalle Dubbel in 33 cl bottles. But around 150 carefully selected Belgian cafés and restaurants serve this beer on tap from barrels containing 20, 30 and 50 litres. In the barrel, this living beer evolves differently to emerge with a slightly sweeter taste. Things changed when the Vandervelde Act was introduced in 1919, stipulating that no strong liquor should be sold in bars. This was enacted to prevent alcohol abuse among workers, who at that time, all drank a lot of gin. Suddenly a gap in the market emerged, that beer brewers were more than happy to fill.

The verdict: A spicier hop profile differentiates it from its few peers. Anyone who thinks of beer as unrefined needs to taste this.Light in color, well-balanced in terms of malts and hops, and usually made from Belgian yeast strains, some tripels are considered among the best beers in the world. A bit of history: The family-owned Flemish brewery, Duvel Moortgat, has been around since 1871, and is best know for its pale ale, Duvel. A few different strains ferment out excellent tripels. First, Wyeast 3787 (Trappist High Gravity) and White Labs WLP530 (Abbey Ale), both reputedly from Westmalle, are excellent choices. Both yeasts produce a predominant ester character, complex and reminiscent of pears, bubblegum, plums and citrus fruits. The peppery spicy phenolic character melds well behind the esters. At higher temperatures, these yeasts can contribute some banana into the ester profile. At low temperatures, lower than 66 °F (19 °C), this yeast can go into a permanent hibernation. A bit of history: Founded in 1996, Victory specializes in German beers, making this Belgian-style tripel an outlier. To start, the phrase “Belgian style” is somewhat of an oxymoron since most Belgians do not brew beers to “fit” any particular style; the Belgian brewers mainly focus on brewing what they like and usually it is up to marketing or the consumer to determine what the “style” should be. But, for simplicity of discussion, we must use “styles.” Common style categorizations similar to that of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP, www.bjcp.org) will be used.

Tripel is a unique genre in that it’s not bitter or overly hoppy, but still very pale in color. Most of the flavor comes from the fermentation. Yeast selection and fermentation temperature play vital roles to create tasty esters and phenols. It’s a strong beer that leaves almost no room for error in masking fermentation derived off-flavors. Hot alcohols, fusels, diacetyl, or solvent-like flavors have no place in well-brewed Tripels.

Classic, balanced, and perfectly brewed, St. Bernardus Tripel is bright golden with a puffy, dense head. All the fruity and spicy yeast notes you’d expect are intertwined with a light floral hoppiness. At 8% ABV, it’s svelte for a Tripel, with a quaffing drinkability. Its deeply golden-yellow colour brings to mind the vivacity of autumn colours. If this beer is poured at a low temperature, a cold cloudy mist may be seen shimmering in the glass. All of this is topped off with a luxurious, but delicate, collar of creamy froth – the not-quite-white jewel in the crown. One family of Belgian ales, termed Strong Dark by the BJCP, includes a myriad of commercial examples with a range of flavors, all having their dark color and high strength (usually 8–10+% ABV) in common. Strong darks are almost always malty with caramel and toasty characters, but can have any combination of ester and phenolic balance. This style includes the strongest examples of many of the Trappist monasteries. Excellent examples include St. Bernardus Abt 12, Westvleteren 12 (yellow cap), Chimay Blue (also called Grande Reserve), Rochefort 10 (blue), Delirium Nocturnum and Avery The Reverend. Also good for a tripel are Wyeast 3522 and White Labs WLP550, the ester profile is not quite as complex but still quite acceptable. One yeast, relatively new to the homebrew market that would be interesting to experiment with for a tripel would be Wyeast 3864 (Canadian/Belgian) yeast, the reputed source is from Unibroue in Canada. Strong Goldens are known for their strength, usually topping 8.0% ABV (alcohol by volume) as well as for their ease of drink — strong but deceptively so, still light in body and refreshing. The prototypical commercial example is Duvel, but there are many other excellent examples such as Lucifer, Delirium Tremens, Brigand, Avery Salvation and North Coast PranQster. The yeast profile in this style focuses on a marriage of spicy and peppery phenolics with a spicy floral hop character. The ester level is moderate but usually simple, often reminiscent of lemons and oranges, but in a complimenting role.