Tripel Karmeliet, Brouwerij Bosteels

It's Belg-a-Rama #5! Starting it off with a terrific tripel I first wrote about it back in January, 2003, on tap at McKenzie's, downtown. (I've edited remarks particular to that visit.) Since then, I've tapped it at the Nile maybe half a dozen times, maybe more, and always keep it in bottles. Those aforementioned notes begin...now:

Tripel Karmeliet, Brouwerij Bosteels,
8.4 % ABV, 16 IBU,
Buggenhout, Belgium.

"Hazy gold color, fine white head, and fortunately poured into it's own particularly shaped glass.

Aroma is uplifting, arousing, sensual, jumping with fruitiness, peaches, tangerines, apricots, citrus, lemon, alive with bright, sunny flavors, and a joyful honey/candy sweetness.

Absolute happiness results from a mere sip of this glorious brew, growing with each new drip down the lips!
Yeast, also, does some work towards delivering the drinker to Beer Nirvana, creating a warm, bready feeling. Body is somewhat light and buoyant, palate is delicate and delicious. Soft, sweet malt, long and lingering, rewarding finish, always accompanied by a tidy, tasteful dance of hops upon the tongue. Ahhh! "

Tripel Karmeliet is still brewed to an authentic beer recipe from 1679 originating in the former Carmelite monastery in Dendermonde. Written over 300 years ago, this recipe describes the use of three kinds of grain: wheat, oats and barley.

The name Tripel karmeliet thus refers both to its origin and its in-bottle refermentation. From many trial brews of multigrain tripels carried out at our brewery in the 90s, it appears that the particular historic combination of the 3 kinds of grain still remains the ideal blend.