St. Bernardus Tripel: The Drunken Monk
Jun 29 '01 (Updated Jul 01 '01)
The Bottom Line An excellent Belgian Tripel, versatile in its refreshing delicacy and robust alcohol warmth. Buy it if you see it.
What could be more exciting than your first home run?
How about your first triple, or should I say Tripel?
Let me go on to explain that a Tripel is a term that refers to a strong Belgian style of ale. The classifications Single, Double and Triple are used to identify degrees of strength, although each also has its own characteristics. Single is rarely used today, while a Double is usually a dark brew around 6% ABV, and a Triple would typically be pale and over 7% ABV. There’s no home run but I recommend you try Chimay or Orval to keep the analogy going.
St. Bernardus
St. Bernardus was my first experience of this type of ale having received a 12-pack from Michael Jackson’s Real Beer Tour (was it as long as that) over three months ago. The cheerful monk on the bottle as well as the name give all the impressions of a Trappist ale. It’s so blatantly obvious that you pretty quickly realize that a monastery brewer would not be so shameless as to depict a drunken monk. The St. Bernardus beers are instead referred to as “in the abbey style” carrying much influence from the great Trappist ales and traditions.
Located in Watou, just on the Belgian side of the French border, the current location was developed by monks as a cheese dairy. After their departure it was taken over by the current owners, who turned the premises into a brewery in 1946. For about 50 years they brewed beers for the St. Sixtus Trappist monastery, an agreement that recently came to an end.
St. Bernardus Tripel - Tasting Notes
So I’ve already told you about the happy monk on the label and what a tripel is, let’s get down to the beer. The beer is bottle-conditioned and recommended as good until 2003, so I’ll be storing a couple of these for future comparison. It’s not the strongest of its style but no lightweight at 7.5% ABV.
This beer pours with an extremely promising liveliness. Even when I was topping off 20 minutes or so later, (I get a little lazy sometimes) I was surprised at the overflow of foam. There’s lots of foam and it’s very enduring, staying right through until the end and coating the glass with patterned layers of Belgian lace. The body is a pale orange color, slightly hazy with persistent signs of lively carbonation.
The nose shows definite signs of alcohol, something of a bubble gum aroma, with an initial maltiness and light fruit. There are also initial notes of spice, a flowery hop as well as a little woodiness.
The palate is medium in body, although you would say light when you consider the alcohol strength, with a spritzy initial carbonation and smooth mouthfeel. It does carry a certain elegance and delicacy for such a strong brew.
There’s an initial maltiness and the alcohol quickly announces its arrival. Mid-palate there are hints of vanilla and a fruitiness that I would probably describe as a pear/green apple flavor. The finish is slightly citric, a little orangey with a mild sourness. This quickly mellows out to a well rounded, long lingering and warming aftertaste. It also seemed a little peppery in its aftermath.
Verdict
It’s very versatile in its character, not only does its delicacy, and soft mouthfeel make for an excellent summertime refresher, the alcohol warmth also make this a more than suitable nightcap. I have drunk it as both, but due to the alcohol would not recommend it as part of your lunch break.
I tried Unibroue’s version, called “Eau Bénite” a few days ago, and concluded that it was a tripel almost as good as this. Looking back I would now have to say that this one is much better. Other people in the beer club commented on the relatively low alcohol content for this style, (and it may only be the equivalent of 1.5 Bud’s) but I fell it’s deceiving and have got something of a light head just from only one of these. Maybe the reason for the latter is the easy drinkability maybe leading to faster than usual consumption.
I’m not well primed in Tripels yet, but have to say that this is the most interesting addition the Real Beer Tour has made to my collection. I have heard that it’s available in some parts of the USA so others may want to check it out. The distributor is Lionstone International, Napa, CA.
[note I found out today that Lionstone International is a wine inporter who partner with Real Beer on the beer side of things]
Serving Suggestions
Like I mentioned, it makes a great summertime brew but would add caution at the same time. My choice would be as a late night unwinder and would drink it either by itself or with an antipasti plate. In Michael Jackson’s notes he recommends asparagus, artichokes, grainy salads, cracked wheat or hummus.
Ratings
Appearance: 5/5 Aroma: 8/10 Palate: 4/5 Flavor: 9/10 Overall: 19/20
Score: 4.5
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