Birth Of The Westmalle Tripel

In 1934, Westmalle brewed the strong golden beer that later became known as Westmalle Tripel. The beer was first known as Superbier, or "super beer," and was connected to the new brewery that Westmalle had built shortly before. Westmalle later described it as the first Tripel brewed within the abbey walls. The wider origin of Tripel is more complicated than a single-brewery invention story. Hendrik Verlinden’s Witkap Pater, commercialized in 1932 at the secular De Drie Linden brewery, is often described as the first commercial Tripel. Westmalle’s version became the defining reference point after Brother Thomas revised the recipe in the 1950s, increased the hopping, and the beer took the name Tripel in 1956.