Trappist Tripel
Brouwerij Westmalle

Trappist TripelTrappist Tripel
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From:
Brouwerij Westmalle
 
Belgium
Style:
Tripel
Ranked #3
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,255
Avg:
4.3 | pDev: 10%
Reviews:
1,893
Ratings:
4,985
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 19, 2024
Added:
Nov 06, 2000
Wants:
  496
Gots:
  1,010
Westmalle's Tripel is a clear, golden yellow Trappist beer of 9.5°. The slow brewing process and secondary fermentation in the bottle produce a complex beer, with a fruity scent of ripe banana and a beautiful, nuanced hop nose. The soft and creamy taste, with a bitter touch carried by the fruit aroma, has a lot of finesse and elegance. Enjoy the wonderfully long and dry aftertaste.

Beer connoisseurs sometimes call the Westmalle Tripel the “mother of all tripels”. That's because the first Tripel was ever brewed within our abbey walls in 1934.
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Ratings by TheManiacalOne:
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

4.4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from an 11.2oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a bright gold color with a large foamy white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of light malts, Belgian yeast, banana, citrus, some hops and spice.

T: The taste is excellently balanced with flavors of Belgian yeast, banana, lemon, spice and pale hops. The malt character is a little on the thin side, but it's not as if you need it to be any heavier in this case. The after-taste is a little bready and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, very clean finish.

D: Very tasty, goes down quite easily, not very filling, great representation of style.

There are two quick personal stories I think I need to relate regarding this beer. The first is that when I bought this beer I was afraid it may be past its prime and questioned the date on the bottle (http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/903581) because the same store might occasionally try to sell a less-than-fresh bottle to you by placing a red, clearance price tag on it. Some fellow BA's at the time helped me realize that the date was "best before 5/18/08" and that the beer would be fine and I thank them for that. The second story (which happened before story #1) is that two people whose opinions of beer I deeply respect tried this beer at the same exact time with their backs turned to each other so each wouldn't see the reaction of the other. When they turned around, both of them had shocked looks on their faces and were amazed at how great the beer tasted. While I may not like the beer as much as they did, I can certainly see why they were so amazed.
May 17, 2007
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.81 by MeIquiades from Illinois

Mar 19, 2024
Photo of moysauce
Rated by moysauce from Illinois

3.99/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Last had in 2022 I believe? Maybe 2023
Mar 06, 2024
Photo of walser
Reviewed by walser from New York

4.4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
From Wegmans in an 11.2oz bottle with expiry in 9 months. Poured hayzy hay colored into wine glass. Nose of banana w spritz of pineapple on top of hops and malt w crest of sugar. The alcohol is middle tongue and only shows if you go searching for it. Very gently made beer. Everything is very balanced and the ingredients seem fresh and unadulterated. Very very good. Hopefully a brewer in the US tripel craze copies the understatement of this. Thank you Trappists.
Mar 01, 2024
 
Rated: 4.4 by Miles_Nilges from New York

Feb 13, 2024
Photo of Mr_Brown
Reviewed by Mr_Brown from Pennsylvania

4.09/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
hazy gold, thin foam
smell of apples, cider, sugars, some pines.
starts very dry for 9.5% alc, finishes with lingering sweetness.
Feels similar to cider or natural wine, hazy and dry, but with sweetness
O: a great triple, starts dry and finishes sweet. Lacks some funkiness in taste compared to triple karmeliet from Bosteels. Natural-wine-like feeling is what I love about it.
Feb 04, 2024
 
Rated: 4.49 by gongfu from Connecticut

Jan 31, 2024
 
Rated: 4.4 by Supper1

Jan 30, 2024
 
Rated: 4.39 by modal from Pennsylvania

Jan 28, 2024
 
Rated: 4.21 by Rodya-CA from California

Jan 26, 2024
Photo of UWDAWG
Reviewed by UWDAWG from Washington

4.13/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a 330ml bottle with a bottled on date of 2-21-22 and a best by date of 2-21-24 into a teku glass at 52 degrees.

Look- Pale gold, moderately hazy, plentiful large visible particulate, white sudsy head, above average head retention, average lacing.

Smell- Ripe banana, floral, apple, medium strength of scent.

Taste- Ripe banana, apple, black pepper, clove, grassy malt character, mildly sweet, medium strength of flavor.

Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, moderately bitter, highly creamy, mildly sweet, moderately dry finish.

Overall- Not a style that I tend to drink, but this beer is regarded as one of the best of it’s kind. I like to be introduced to new styles in this fashion so I can be assured I’m giving myself the best possible chance of properly assessing the style. That being said, this beer provided a new and interesting drinking experience that was pleasant and enjoyable.
Jan 19, 2024
 
Rated: 2.9 by SeanP99 from North Carolina

Jan 11, 2024
 
Photo of nasal
Reviewed by nasal from Illinois

4.4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Hot, high abv flavor. Love it, but would need to try it side by side with my other favorite tripels to know if I prefer this funkier tripel over a sweeter tripel like Fin du Monde.
Dec 30, 2023
 
Rated: 4.25 by TrueMetalJake from Oregon

Dec 11, 2023
 
Rated: 4.24 by bschmidt_37 from Illinois

Dec 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.85 by KeithGreatNorth from Canada (BC)

Dec 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4.44 by Happyyb from New Hampshire

Dec 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by Nyoder

Nov 26, 2023
Trappist Tripel from Brouwerij Westmalle
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 4985 ratings