Beer expert blind tastes 16 Belgian Tripels | The Craft Beer Channel 

St. Bernardus is just pure quality from top to bottom. Their beers are usually not the absolute best in class, but all of their stuff is right there near the top of the list on all of their expressions. I especially love the Abt. 12. Combine their quality with the ease of availability (you can get St. Bernardus everywhere) and you can never go wrong with them.

Tripel karmeliet got shafted on this one, definitely one of my more memorable beers I’ve ever had for good reasons

Jonny next time you should do a blind taste test of the Belgian Quadrupels, I’m very curious to see what the result will be.

This really needed the Tripel De Garre in there.

As a Belgian, I must admit I never had the Kasteel tripple before. Will definitely try it next weekend! Thanks for the best beer tasting video on the web!

St bernardus is a worldclass brewery, with one of the best christmas beer, quad, AND triple !

My local doesn't have many belgian options but the two St Feuillien's. It's always my go to beer to share when bringing friend's who've never tried anything but macro lager. They always love it, glad to know it ranked well!

I love a good Belgian triple, the Westmalle, the Tripel Karmeliet and the Straffe Hendrik Tripel are my favourite beers in this style.

When I first tasted “La Fin du Monde” 7 years ago, as someone who didn’t really drink beers, I thought it was the best beer in the world. Today As a Québécois, I can proudly say that Unibroue paved the way for all craft brewies in Québec and we probably make the best beer in all the Americas, but of course I’m biased.

As a Midwest American, you've opened up my beer opinions almost every time you do a tasting, but when it's a type of beer you absolutely love, we can tell. This type is added to the list!

Some lovely beers there. One that never makes this list, and it always surprises me, is Triple LeFort. It's absolutely beautiful, but rarely available outside Belgian or France. Would absolutely recommend it if you've never had it.

Val Dieu’s Tripel needed to be in this tasting. Plus, I’ve had Unibroue’s La Fin du Monde as old as 7 years showing great complexity. Also De Glazen Toren’s Ondineke Tripel would have been great!

Had to rush down to Lidl and pick up the 6 pack mix of Bornem dubbel, Bornem triple, Gulden Draak, Gulden Draak 9000 Quad, Piraat and Piraat Tripel hop just to get on sort of the same page 😅

Belgian Trippel is my favorite beer! 😄

Great video! I’m Irish living in Belgium, so will defo check out the Kasteel. Glad to see the two St-Feuillien beers so prominent as they have a fantastic range of beers. Also, I live beside the brewery and it’s named after a 7th-century Irish saint called Faolán, so I am in Heaven here. They even hold an Irish festival in the brewery called the Faolán Irish Fest. Drop by for a tour the next time you’re over

Such an underrated style in the craft beer community, together with a lot of dubble, the quad and the belgian blonde. I know that like with all the great traditional beers - it is harder to beat the classics but i'd still rather drink a nice balanced dubble or tripel over all the pastry nonsense coming out.

So sorry your Fin Du Monde was dead. I love that beer, drink it all the time and was looking forward to see how it fares against the top belgian tripels. Great vid nevertheless!! Cheers 🍻!

As a Belgian, let me tell you that your ranking is right on point! We could talk about why for hours.

Interesting! Like you, I would have skipped Kasteel's Tripel for another make. I'll have to try it again. These blind tests are amazing! Please keep doing them.

Straffe Hendrik would have been my pick from that bunch. I remember thinking Bersalis Tripel by Oud Beersel was a banger too.

Missed opportunity to review De Garre! it's a big at 11-12%, but I think that ranks among the elite of Tripels, though I am aware it is a challenge to track down, but adds to the mystique of the bar in Bruges. Great video, time to track down some Kasteel!

“Proost” is more Dutch (The Netherlands) in Belgium it goes between “Santé” or “Schol” both are used

Straffe Hendrik was one of my early exposures to Belgians. 1998 honeymoon in Brugge and Brussels. Their brewery tour (in 4 languages) was amazing! Also had a great lunch there of melon and prosciutto.

My favorite beer style. Complex and yet still easy to drink.

Great stuff, can’t wait for the imperial stout tasting for a proper test of stamina. Do the beers end up down the sink or is Brad in the garden finishing them off?

As good as these Belgian classics are, I’ve definitely tasted variation between bottles at different times, some I’m curious what the result would have been on a different day

Speaking as a Canadian, I was literally chatting about the Fin Du Monde the other day with Kyle from Toronto Brewing. He's been trying to replicate it, as he thinks the recipe went downhill about a decade ago. In Ontario, you can really only get that periodically, and it's in a mixed twelve pack in 341ml screw top bottles with a decorative foil sleeve that keeps the cap on during refermentation. It's not currently up to scratch, and that oxidative character is probably a hallmark of that beer at this point.

1:30 that's the best pronunciation I ever heard a native English speaker say "Duvel".

I watched this alongside looking at how I rated all my tripels on untappd. Seems I had the same top 4 / 5 - with the exception of Marsedous Tripel (which you didn’t test) in mine. This is probably my favourite beer style in the world. Not sure how you didn’t end up going arse over tit out of your brew shed after all of those though! 😂

La fin du monde is my favorite tripel and tripels are my favorite beers besides saisons! I've had some hit or miss la fin bottlings that have challenged my love but when I get a good one there is nothing better, well i'd say the only thing that i'd say is missing for it to be the perfect beer is drinkability, and by that I mean that its alcohol content can sometimes get in the way of making a particularly "refreshing" beer. Thanks for the video I think i've tried about half the beers presented and am very excited to try Kasteel!

Just missing some Allagash!

Poor La Fin du Monde. I love that beer so much and I think you should give it another chance! It’s a great example of this style and one of the best outside of Belgium. Cheers from Canada, excellent video.

Good to see Kasteel doing well. They have so many great beers and some pretty bad ones too. Straffe is just amazing. Kinda surprised to see La Guillotine there - it is more a Belgian Strong than a Tripel. Also kinda surprised to see you missing La Trappe, Gouden Carolus, Maredsous, Lefort and Zundert. All pretty classic tripels. A really underrated one that I would have loved to see you try is Leffe's tripel - surprisingly it is pretty good. This is such an interesting style - not many breweries outside of Belgium or probably Netherlands end up hitting the right notes for the style - they either end up making them like weiss beer or like a new england lemony/hazy beer.

lost it at the “fuck it that’ll do.” longering is my new favourite word

St Mars of the Desert did a tripel last year which was hands down the nest tripel I've ever had.

Delicious 😊 after 16 tripples you might go off as well, no pun intended 😂. Anyway, great to learn that the commercial brewers get it spot on occasionally 😊 For me personally, Ill buy a crate or 2 of kasteel triple, why not... 11°abv, vanilla at the front and the bach end. Lovely times we live in 🎉cheers 🍻

Any plan to include La Trappe in any of these tastings? A brewery with a very interesting history, and offer some great beers including their Tripel, but especially their Quadrupel which is stunning.

I'm sure you'll hear of the many tripels you missed. Let me throw Carolus Tripel into the mix. It is my local tipple and didn't quite determine my decision to live here but certainly helped.

la find du monde! i’m from montreal and me and my buddies got a pack of beers from unibroue with this beer in it, we’re teenagers so we hated it but of course all the beers were all high alcohol percentage so we got really drunk (that was the point). i’m going to have to give that one another try tho, i can’t remember if that was the one we liked or not.

Give the La Fin du Monde another try from a fresher bottle. La Fin du Monde is near the top on my list. Kind of hard to imagine sitting for 25 minutes watching another guy drink beer, however I enjoyed viewing.

Lovely to see that my personal favorites also seem to be yours.

This is probably nearly impossible to get in the UK but Allagash's Tripel is one of the absolute best.

Fond memories of drinking Straffe Hendrik in Bruges. Good times

15:28 you are not far off its struktuur in dutch/flemish 😂😂

Should should definitely try "Brugge Tripel" and "Gouden Carolus Tripel". My favourite tripel is definitely the Tripel Karmeliet. Of all of the Belgian Tripels it's the least "offensive". By which I mean, it goes with everything (with a meal, at a bar, at a BBQ,...) and most people like it.

Found a case of Kasteel Triple that was 15 years old. All 75cls and all were brilliant to drink. Powerful beer

I'm Belgian and my two favourite tripels are Karmeliet and Kasteel tripel ;)!

I’m impressed you didn’t fall over in the video! My god!

Very informative video as always from CBC. I was very happy with the result. Checking my Untappd check-ins as you were drinking each beer and of all the ones I’ve tried, Kasteel was my highest rated beer. Looks like I do know something!! Cheers.

i think the difference there was who brewed it, the golden ale is made by commercial/^private breweries and trappist is brewed by a certain kind of monk

Greetings from Luxembourg. We routinely drink Triple Karmeliet here, but I have a penchant for Kasteel. It’s been good to me. So appreciate the love

It is all in the eye of the beholder. Personal taste, you know.

Chimay is my favorite triple. La Chouffe is my favorite Belgian strong blonde. Chimay Blue is my favorite dark beer. If you want to try something interesting and amazing, try a Sea Change Blonde if you can find it. Made in Edmonton Alberta.

The thing about Belgian beers, I find, is that it's quite important to drink them "in order". Now, that contradicts the premise of blind tasting but you dont necessarily get the real taste of a beer in the way you've done it if you are bouncing between, say, very robust Belgian beers with strong flavours - banana, vanilla, bread etc then you hit a Westmalle Tripel and the natural inclination would be to be slightly underwhelmed or jarred by the crispness. Whereas the other way round, you can savour the Wetmalle then appreciate the fuller tipel, e.g Karmaliet or Kasteel after it. That said, I think you're right in the centre of the ballpark (mixed metaphor there), Straffe Hendrik - what a beer. I just wish Westmalle Tripel had made 24 because its a thing of beauty. I can't put my finger on it, I've had many (too many) belgian beers over time but some beers stand out in the right conditions as being consistent (Straffe Hendrik) but some produce beautifual moments - Westmalle Tripel and of all things, Duvel! Duvel, with the right bottle at the right temp. in the right mood, with a tight, super smooth head is unbeatable. 1 out of 10 Duvels, may be 1 out of 20 is like this but when it is... Must try the Kasteel Tripel though, never had it.

the results may vary depending how long you aged your trippel. in my experience Kasteel and Strafe shines after a year of shelf life. before that time they quite boozy (probably as bottle fermentation goes on). Westmalle is fine at any conditions. that's why it's appreciated more by people and rating systems

Unibroue was once the top of the craft scene in Canada, like 15 years ago, I haven't seen a corked bottle of it in ages.

The BEST beer in the world made in Belgium !

Very interesting comparison, especially the note about not aging Tripels. I recently found a bottle of the Westmalle and to be honest it wasn't as enjoyable as the Rochfort. Given where I found it though it's actually reasonable to assume that it had been there for 12 months or more.

I agree with you on Kasteel I always thought their beers were a little bit too sweet, a little bit too boozy, kind of like Bush, but I like them a lot. Proof is in the pudding however, and I'm glad to see it score so well.

Beers that make you forgetful, make the best memories 😂😂😂

Well, that gives me something to consider in Bruges next week.

I can live with this report :-)

Watching this video took me back. I remember back in the early Aughts, the owner of the beer store I was going to, gave me a bottle of Westmalle Triple for free. It was a great gesture. I really liked the beer. Back then I always described the banana notes as bubblegum. After watching this video I logged on to my old ratebeer account to see what I thought of some of the beers shown here.

"Tripel" was created by the monks. The story tells that they used to mark an "X" on the barrel when the beer was "OK", 2 "X" when it was good and 3 "X" when the beer was very good.

Live in Belgium (but British) here, I'm surprised Kasteel did so well because, like you, I considered their beers (specifically the Rouge) the classy choice here for people who don't really like beer. Will have to try it, not sure I've ever actually had it. It's a shame you didn't have my personal favourite (Tripel Lefort) here, would have been curious how it fared. Also Tripel d'Anvers, it's got an interesting, slightly different, character, people from Antwerp swear by it (as they do most things from Antwerp). It's also interesting how badly Tripel Karmeliet did, I'd consider that the 'classic' tripel choice, definitely the most popular where I live, but maybe I'm amongst too much of a student crowd - it's definitely on the easier to drink end of the spectrum. Strongly looking forward to/suggesting a Saison tasting next time you cover a Belgian style ;)

Great video! I do love me a tripel as well. My favorite tripel is not even Belgian. I think Allagash Tripel, and especially the barrel and bean version is absolutely delicious! 😁

This was great. I need to do this someday. Would be super fun. I was surprised when I checked Untappd and saw that I have checked-in 121 different Belgian Tripel beers (not all from Belgium of course). Westmalle and Karmeliet are at the top for me. Then Dulle Teve, Maredsous, De Gare, Ename, Zundert, and Finesse right behind. Followed by St Bernardus, Gouden Carolous, and Sraffe Hendrik. I have Kasteel rated low. It's been a while since I've had one, so I'll have to revisit it. I am curious how my ratings would change in a blind test. I am sure they would since I have become more serious and educated by studying for Cicerone certification.

Now do this with Quads!

One of my favourite styles, and this has to be one of my favourite blind taste tests yet. Glad to see you walked out at the end, rather than Brad carrying you out in a fireman's lift. Save that for the Quads, right?

As a Belgian who's been a staunch Westmalle Tripel drinker since legal beerdrinking age (16 over here), I was over-the-moon excited the second I saw this video thumbnail! Belgian ways to say cheers: Schol, santé, proost, tchin-tchin Kasteel doés have a slightly trashy imago around my parts, but you certainly convinced me to give it another shot :)

I hope you come to Montreal and the province of Quebec at some points. Vermont, Oregon and Quebec are the 3 regions in the North America with the most microbreweries per capita. So many good beer here, you'll love it!

brilliant video. my first visit to your channel. some of these tripels i've known and appreciated for quite some time now; some (about half) i've never drunk or even ever heard of. i liked your comments, revealing expertise, and indeed: don't age tripels. that said, the st-bernardus tripel can develop a pleasant hint of walnut when just past peak. i actually prefer it there. in my opinion tripel karmeliet reached a much higher level a few years ago. i quite agree with your current assessment here. kasteelbier is brewed just about in my backyard, not half a mile away in the village where i live, so i should feel honoured by your conclusion. i love the beer, drink it quite often, and i love its creamy opulence, but still: westmalle is the best tripel in the world. still. to me, its complexity is unrivaled, the hop touch included. i always like chimay, a bit rustic, so a winter beer. and straffe hendrik revives. recently it came to my attention again, and these days it's top notch. and the best beer in the world? orval, no? you múst let that one age. gezondheid!

First and foremost - I’ll roshambo you for that Czech check shirt - it’s amazing. Second, I’m now off to find some Tripels, I want a warm Belgian glow like you had in this vid!

I really like that you cleared the table and went through all the beers that scored 24, but I wish you could have included the 23's also... I would have enjoyed stacking up Westmalle with this smaller group and hearing your notes, but an excellent job, definitely will be trying Kasteel again because of this. Will you still finish your Trappist series?

Great exercise and I applaud you not rating an old bottle of La Fin du Monde, but you do need to rate it and Im sure it will be a top tier tripel for you. It’s the best tripel IMHO, but it’s fun to debate and compare notes.

I first had La Fin Du Monde 25 years ago and it was incredible. Unfortunately, after changing hands I don’t know how many times, it’s nothing like it used to be.

personal favorite is the triple bertimchamps, quite refreshing in comparison to other triple imo

Well. color me surpriced. I'd never expected Kasteel to be that good, nor to see Straffe up there as well. St bernadus yes of course. They make some VERY good beer and I'd go for that any day. That and shun Karmeleit. Very interesting tasting. Cheers!

It's gotta be Tripel Karmeliet or Trappist Achel. Everything Achel makes is absolutely gorgeous.

I had the same experience with the Kasteel Tripel very recently, was surprised at how good it was! Westmalle is still my favourite but it has some serious competition.

I'm living in malle so the westmalle is my go to off course then im going for the Sint Bernardus and the saint foullien grandcru I'm always choose the kasteel as least option but deff going to try that soon again

Amazed by Rochefort Tripel - it has become one of my favourites because it tastes unlike the others and like a Solero to me: creamy texture with vanilla, tropical-fruity vibes. Not sure what went wrong with your bottle :(

How to get bashed quickly:

Missing most of my favourite tripels namely;LeFort,Gouden Carolus,Paix Dieu,Ename and De Garre

I've only had five or six of these. It's a shame your La Fin du Monde went belly up on you. It's my go-to tripel. Mainly because I'm cheap. It's significantly less (here in the states) than the other labels. It is brewed just outside of Montreal, and I gotta believe that accounts for a lot of that difference. Unibroue used to put out a seasonal Black Forest Cake ale that was a great dessert beer. If they still do, please let me know (I know it was a seasonal that they shipped to the States every other year). I'm lucky. I have a great Belgian bar, complete with feather bowling about a mile away from my house: Cadieux Cafe in the northeast corner of Detroit. They have a few of these on tap!

i would LOVE if you did something on brasserie d'achouffe! they make such amazing beers

I've always been a St Bernie guy... Westmalle is solid. I do now want to try the Kasteel. Entertaining stuff my friend. Roll on the Quads tasting 😂🎉

The term "tripel" dates back to medieval times. Our abbey's used to make 3 different strengths of beer and the barrels were marked with X's to mark which beer was them. Tripel is Flemish for triple, so the barrels with 3 X's. That's why tripel is usually stronger than the same brewery's double. Westmalle dubbel (double) is 7% while their tripel is 9,5% for instance. I'm betting that's one of the reasons monks used to take a vow of silence. They all had huge headaches from the hangovers. As someone who chipped in for the crowd funding of De Halve Maan's 3.3 kilometer beer pipeline, I'm glad to see Straffe Hendrik from my home town of Bruges hit the top 3. 👍 But 'Proost' is the Dutch, we Belgians usually say 'Santé' 😁

To bad about the La Fin Du Mond being so old. Great North American beer. I would have like to see how it measured up again the Belgium's.

I love tripels! The triple stuffed Oreos of the beer world!! I’ll have to track down Kasteels now.

you should try herkenrode's tripel. its incredible and raisiny, cinnamon-ey, and reminds me of a rum baba

Well Done Sir, and thank you for sacrificing yourself on the Altar of Tripel. My preferred local beer (INDIE FERM, or Independent Fermentations) is a honey tripel runs 9% abv, IBU of 20 or so. The honey is local, as is the water, and some of the hops are also grown on land rented to the brewery. I have made up a list of your test subjects, and will spend a bit of time with the usual suspects in sampling them. A few I've had...the La Fin Du Monde was obviously far too old. Find a fresh bottle, you will not be so disappointed. A couple local stores carry most of these, so the adventure begins! Oh, yes, sorry, I'm in Plymouth MA USA

we also say "schol" instead of proost

16 Belgian biers we appreciate your dedication

New Belgium tripel for me here in the US. I prefer over St B. Try to track one down

My personal favourite tripel is Tongerlo Prior. Not a huge fan of tripels though. I'm more of a dubbel and quadrupel drinker. And when it comes to paler beers, I go for the Belgian Strong Ales, like Duvel.

I love the Kasteel triple too. Thing is, their brown one is gimmicky so it's easy to dismiss the brand. In a different genre, I also like their newer Rubus version (raspberry). I used to love the Achel, slightly less so now. I'll have to try it again. I wonder if maybe it has changed ? I love Straffe Hendrik, the Straffe Hendrik Wild is also well worth a try.

That was brilliantly done and very funny. Like you, had never bothered with Kasteel before, always comes across as a bit supermarket own-brand. As St B and Westmalle were my previous favourites will definitely reach for your winner next time I’m in the beer aisle.

Will keep an eye out for the top versions. I see beers from them localy, but not their Tripels. Allagash might get my vote for the best made US Tripel. Tripel is one of my favorite styles and I have one in my fermenter now! Dubbel might be my favorite style, "sessionable" at only 8% ABV.

I like a good Tripel, but shout out to Double beers. These dark beers are severely underrated