Skip to main content

© WineVybe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Drink responsibly. Made in the EU.

Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet

Discover this Tripel Karmeliet


Tripel Karmeliet is with a Crown Cap closure by Bosteels. It has a critic score of 61 out of 100 based on an aggregation of ratings from our partner sites.

Specifications

Wine Vybe Icon Critic Score 61/100
Wine Vybe Icon Producer Bosteels
Wine Vybe Icon Closure Crown Cap
Wine Vybe Icon MPN # WVB-111285
Critic Scores & User Ratings are based on an aggregated score from our partner websites.
Beer Variety | Wine Vybe

Abbey Ale Varietals

Originally, the term "abbey beers" (Bières d'Abbaye or Abdijbier) was used to describe any monastery or monastic-style beer. After the International Trappist Association introduced an official Trappist beer certification in 1997, it came to indicate items that were comparable in style or presentation to monastic brews.   To put it another way, an Abbey beer could be:

  • brewed by a commercial brewery under a business agreement with an existent monastery
  • branded with the name of a defunct abbey by a commercial brewer

Abbey Beers are beers brewed in the styles popularized by Belgian Trappist monks, but not within the confines of a monastery. The phrases "Trappist," "Trappistes," and "Trappisten" or any similar derivation are now considered a "appellation (controlee)," or origin indicator. Look into trappist breweries. Only seven breweries in the world are permitted to use the Trappist moniker as of 2011, but this was not always the case. When people realize that monks have always provided alcoholic beverages, they are astonished. Many monastic orders and monasteries believe in self-sufficiency, and monasteries used to have enormous agricultural holdings from which to feed themselves. Monks cultivated their own food and brewed their own alcoholic beverages. Wine was regarded safe in Europe during the Middle Ages, but people were aware that water, which may hold a variety of diseases, could drink hazardous or even fatal. As monasteries migrated from southern Europe's grape-growing regions to northern Europe's grain-growing regions, many turned to the production of beer rather than wine for daily subsistence. The Cistercian Order, formed in the 1100s, gave birth to "the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance" in Abbaye de la Trappe in 17th-century Normandy. The Trappist monks of northern France created excellent beer and sold and traded it to the outside world.

There are a few distinct styles that fall under the abbey ale umbrella. Westmalle invented the tripel (triple) kind of robust golden ale. See also tripel. Tripels have a burnished, rich gold color and ABVs ranging from 7% to 10%, with the majority hovering around 9%. The greatest specimens have a low residual sugar content but have a pleasant malty fruitiness on the palate. Most have a light sharp bitterness and forceful carbonation, with a subtle and well-integrated hop aroma. Despite their power, good tripels are delicate and go well with a variety of dishes. Belgian brewers produce dozens of tripels, but craft brewers in the United States and elsewhere are now producing dozens more, some of which are superb.

Although less popular in the United States, the dubbel (or double) variety is still commonly produced in Belgium. Dark ales, usually russet brown, with ABVs ranging from 6% to 7.5 percent, make up this category. These are typically dry as well, but most have a light caramel sweetness on the taste. The heavily caramelized candi sugar syrup that gives these beers their color also imparts a raisin-like fruitiness. Bitterness is usually mild. These can be excellent food beers, with the caramel flavor complementing foods with seared, roasted, or fried flavors.

Get this product

$5.00 avg. price in USD

WineVybe doesn't sell this product, but you can purchase it through one of our partners: