Belgian-Style Tripel
| Location: | Belgian and French |
|---|---|
| Category: | Ale |
| BJCP Comparable Category: | 26C - Belgian Tripel |
Beer Style Description
This is the description of how the Belgian-Style Tripel style of beer should taste, feel and look. However, there may be perfectly fine beers in this style that fall outside of these ranges and descriptions. This information is just to show the most commonly accepted ranges for the Belgian-Style Tripel beer style.
Head should be dense and mousse-like. Brewing sugar may be used to lighten the body. Hop/malt character should be balanced. The overall beer flavor may finish sweet, though any sweet finish should be light.
- Color: Pale to pale gold
- Body: Medium
- Malt Flavors & Aromas: Low sweetness from very pale malts should be present. There should be no roasted or dark malt character.
- Hop Flavors & Aromas: Low, if present
- IBUs/Bitterness: Medium to medium-high
- Fermentation Characteristics: A complex, sometimes mildly spicy, aroma and flavor characterize this style. Clove-like phenolic aroma and flavor may be very low. Fruity esters, including banana, are also common, but not required. Traditional Tripels are often well attenuated. Alcohol strength and flavor should be present.
- Common Ingredients: Pilsner malt, typically with pale sugar adjuncts. Saazer-type hops or Styrian Goldings are commonly used. Belgian yeast strains are used – those that produce fruity esters, spicy phenolics and higher alcohols – often aided by slightly warmer fermentation temperatures. Spice additions are generally not traditional, and if used, should be a background character only. Fairly soft water.
- Commercial Examples: Affligem Tripel, Chimay Cinq Cents, La Rulles Tripel, La Trappe Tripel, St. Bernardus Tripel, Unibroue La Fin Du Monde, Val-Dieu Triple, Watou Tripel, Westmalle Tripel
Brewing Properties of Belgian-Style Tripel
These are the functional brewing properties of Belgian-Style Tripel beers, as descided by the Brewers Association. These guidelines reflect, as accurately as possible, the historical significance, authenticity or a common profile in the current commercial beer market.
| ABV The alcohol by volume is shows the amount of alcohol this style of beer should have. |
7.1 - 10.1% |
|---|---|
| Bitterness The International Bittering Units (IBU) scale is used to approximately quantify the actual (not perceived) bitterness of beer. |
20 - 45 IBUs | SRM SRM is a scale for measuring the color intensity of a beer. Low SRM grains impart a pale straw color while higher values mean it will add a darker color to the wort. Learn more » |
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4 - 7 SRM(8 - 14 EBC) |
| Original Gravity Original Gravity (OG) is a measure of the sugar content in the wort before alcoholic fermentation has started to produce the beer. |
1.070 - 1.092 |
| Final Gravity The Final Gravity (FG) is how much sugar is left over in the beer when fermentation is complete. |
1.008 - 1.014 |
If you see an error in our data, please let us know!
Based on Brewers Association 2020 Beer Style Guidelines with changes. Used with permission of Brewer's Association.