Westmalle Tripel (33.1cl, 9.5%)

Westmalle Tripel is a 9.5% ABV Belgian Trappist ale in a 331ml bottle, brewed by Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle at the Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Westmalle, Antwerp Province, Belgium. The monks first brewed a strong golden ale under the name Tripel in 1934. The recipe uses barley malt, white candi sugar and whole hop flowers, with secondary fermentation in the bottle for natural carbonation. The nose shows ripe banana, hop florals, dough-like yeast, light cinnamon and clove. The palate is soft and creamy, with brown sugar sweetness, fresh apple juice, baguette crust, a suggestion of orange and gradually building hop bitterness. The finish is long and dry, with lingering hop bitterness and a faint echo of banana and spice.