- Beer
- Belgian
Recognized by its fruit and spice aromas and sweet malt flavor, this strong, pale beer is an excellent style for both beginning and advanced homebrewers.
By
Joe Postma
Joe Postma
Joe Postma is an experienced homebrewer with a passion for craft beer. He guided beginners through the basics of homebrewing through a series of features in the Serious Eats “Homebrewing” column and developed craft beer recipes for homebrewers of every skill level.
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Updated October 05, 2023
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In This Recipe
About the Ingredients
Before You Start
Other Considerations for Brewing
Why It Works
- The simplicity of the base recipe makes it great for beginning and advanced homebrewers trying to capture that perfect Belgian yeast character.
- Pilsner malt, candy sugar, noble hops, and Belgian yeast in the base produce surprisingly delicious and complex flavors.
- It ages well in the bottle and the flavors will continue to improve for up to a year if stored in a cool, dark place.
The Trappist monks of Westmalle Abbey have produced the Tripel as their premier beer style for over 70 years. This pale, strong beer is recognized by its fruit and spice aromas and sweet malt flavor that seems to quickly dissipate from the tongue. The simplicity of the base recipe makes thisan excellent style for the beginning homebrewer, but it will also push the limits for the advanced homebrewer trying to capture that perfect Belgian yeast character.
Let's take a look at the basic components of a Trappist Belgian Tripel and a recipe that will start you on the path of brewing like a monk.
About the Ingredients
Pilsner maltshould be the primary grain in any tripel recipe, and is often the only grain. If any other grains are used they should support the character and aromas of the Pilsner malt, but never be immediately discernible in the final product. The simple grain bill produces the light color that is expected in this style.
Candy sugaris a consistent ingredient in many Belgian beer styles, and it is especially important in the Tripel. The fast-fermenting simple sugar willincrease the alcohol content and help produce a dry finish. Belgians traditionally use beet sugar, but white table sugar can be substituted without a significant flavor difference. Sugar is usually added to the wort with about 15 minutes left in the boil, and it's important to stir the wort until the sugar is completely dissolved so it does not scorch the brew kettle.
Hops for a Tripel recipe, like for most Belgian styles, should have a low alpha acid content and be primarily used at the very beginning of the boil. Varieties such as Hallertau, Spalt and Saaz (known as Noble Varieties) are traditional.
Belgian yeast characteris the star of the show and where the brewer can exercise flexibility and creativity. Both of the major beer yeast producers, Wyeast and White Labs, have many varieties that originate from Belgian breweries. Wyeast 3787 and White Labs WLP530 are from the Westmalle brewery and will produce a clean and subtle fruit character. For a more intense Belgian spice and fruit character, you can use the Chimay strain sold as Wyeast 1214 or White Labs WLP500. If you're interested in reproducing the character of a particular Belgian brewery,this guideprovides an excellent reference for each of the available yeast strains and the breweries where they originate.
Before You Start
If you don't have a lot of experience with Belgian ales, it's best to purchase and taste a few commercial examples for homebrewing research before you brew one. Start with the Westmalle Tripel, and Chimay Cinq Cents (white label). Other traditional Belgian tripels that you might find at a specialty beer store or bar are St. Bernardus Tripel and Tripel Karmeliet. Some American breweries have also done pretty well with this style, including New Belgium Tripel and Allagash Tripel ales which are readily available in beer stores.
Ready to brew? This tripel recipe was given to me by the person who taught me how to homebrew. I've tried several variations, but I've found that the simplicity of the original produces the most authentic and best-tasting homebrew tripel. You may be surprised at the deliciously complex flavors that develop from a base that consists only of Pilsner malt, candy sugar, noble hops, and Belgian yeast. This beer will age well in the bottle, and if stored in a cool, dark place, the flavors will continue to improve for up to a year. The recipe is designed for the beginning brewer, and is about the same level of difficulty as a pale ale or hoppy red ale.
Other Considerations for Brewing
Whichever Belgian yeast you choose, you will need to make a two-liter starter 24 to 48 hours in advance. If you don't have the time or equipment to make a starter, use two packages of yeast to ensure proper fermentation. I do not recommend using any type of dry yeast substitute for Belgian styles of beer.
For purposes of conditioning and clarifying, you will need an additional 5-gallon glass carboy to transfer the beer into after primary fermentation is complete. This step adds a couple weeks to the brewing process, but it allows the complex flavors of the Belgian yeast to fully develop and produces a better-looking and tasting homebrew.
As always, the first step to success is proper sanitation. Mix up at least three gallons of sanitizing solution in your sanitizing bucket (either Iodophor or Star San), and sanitize every utensil that comes in contact with the wort after the boil is complete. Before you transfer your wort to the fermentation vessel, pour the sanitizer into the vessel and swirl the sanitizer around so it touches every surface, then pour it back into the sanitizing bucket. There is no need to rinse the sanitizer or foam off of anything you use—there will be no residual flavor and the residue will actually help to keep everything clean.
April 2011
Recipe Details
Belgian Tripel (For Beginning Homebrewers) Recipe
Prep50 mins
Cook75 mins
Active4 hrs
Fermentation Time:672 hrs
Total674 hrs 5 mins
Ingredients
- 9 pounds Pilsner malt extract
- 1 pound light Belgian candy sugar
- 1 pound Carapils malt, crushed
- 2 ounces Hallertau hops - 60 minutes
- 6 gallons of tap water, split
- 2 Liter starter of liquid Belgian Ale yeast (Whitelabs WLP500 or Wyeast 1214)
Directions
If possible, place 3 gallons in the refrigerator to cool in a sanitized container.
Tie the Carapils malt in a large mesh grain bag or hop bag. Place the bag in 3 gallons of water in a 5-gallon pot and immerse the grain.
Begin to heat, making sure mesh bag isn’t sitting directly on the bottom of the pot. Remove the grain bag when the temperature reaches 170°F (77°C).
Bring wort to a vigorous boil. As water is heating, slowly add 2 pounds of Pilsner liquid malt extract, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. When the boil begins, add 2 ounces Hallertau hops in a mesh bag.
After 45 minutes of boiling has passed, add remaining 7 pounds of Pilsner liquid malt extract and 1 pound of Belgian candy sugar, stirring constantly until completely dissolved.
After a total of 60 minutes of boil, remove from heat. Warning: After wort cools below 180°F (82°C) everything that touches it should be sanitary, and exposure to open air should be limited as much as possible.
Cool wort by placing pot in ice bath until it is below 85°F (29°C). Transfer to sanitized fermentor (either a carboy or a fermentation bucket). Top off to make 5 gallons using refrigerated water.
Use a sanitized auto-siphon racking cane to remove enough wort to take a gravity reading with your hydrometer. Make a note of this number, since you will be using it to calculate the actual alcohol content when it's done fermenting. The reading should be around 1.075.
Carefully pour yeast into cooled wort (it should be below 70°F/21°C), and agitate vigorously. Cover fermentor with a sanitized stopper and airlock. Ferment in dark place, keeping ambient temperature consistent, preferably between 68 and 70°F.
After primary fermentation is complete (take at least two consistent gravity readings), transfer to a secondary carboy for conditioning as discussed here and store as cool as possible.
Bottle after another four to six weeks using enough priming sugar for a high level of carbonation according to these instructions.
Special Equipment
5 gallon glass carboy in addition to basic homebrewing equipment setup
Read More
- A Beginner's Guide to Belgian Beer Styles
