Belgian Tripel

Belgian Tripel is an an estery and spicy strong golden Belgian style. No one really knows where the term Tripel itself came from, though speculation has been that it refers loosely to the strength of the beer. (they generally range from 7.5-11% ABV). Westmalle trappist brewery was the first to popularize the style, first brewed by Hendrik Verlinden of the Drie Linden brewery in the early 1930s. Westmalle coined the name Tripel in 1956, and the style has been referred to as a Belgian style Tripel ever since. Tripels are very malty in flavor, but are generally quite dry in the finish. They are brewed with a majority of pilsner malt, and invert sugar or white sugar is often added to increase the ABV. The ABV is quite high but the beer style does not usually taste boozy. The vast majority of the flavor profile itself comes from the yeast, and the beer is often fermented at warm temperatures (70 degrees F or above) to drastically increase the spicy phenolics that the Belgian yeast strains give off, which are peppery, clove-like and even some notes of banana.