Everything You Need to Know About International Tripel Day

A style with a cult-like following in the industry, tripels aren’t usually the first Belgian style that comes to everyone’s mind. But on International Tripel Day on Monday, March 3rd, 2025 (get it? 3/3!), tripels come first. Breweries nationwide will encourage fans to celebrate this complex, mesmerizing, yet approachable style by enjoying a few of their favorite.

Started a couple of years ago by tripel fan Mike Sawchuck, International Tripel Day celebrates the love of this blonde, higher-ABV, Belgian beer known for its distinct, layered yeast profile.

Twenty-seven breweries* will participate this year across five countries and four continents, including the Belgian-focused Brewery Ardennes in the U.S., Meuse in Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada, Westmalle in Europe, one in Australia, and one in Argentina. Participation looks different for every brewery, with some offering specials on their tripels, others releasing unique barrel-aged versions of their tripel, some creating memorable events, and others simply promoting their love of tripel through social media.

“It brings together diverse breweries—new, old, big, and small—from all over the world,” says Brewery Ardennes Co-Founder Derek Edinger. “Tripels are an underappreciated style, so we’re all trying to evangelize this … secret hero that needs more respect.”

First of All, What Exactly Is a Tripel?

Photography courtesy of Dildo Brewing (upper left corner), 5e Brewing (upper right corner), and Westmalle (on the bottom)

According to Browerij der Trappisten van Westmalle’s Head of Marketing, Manu Pauwels, the tripel’s history dates back to 1934 in Belgium, when a new trend focused on higher-gravity beers.

At the simplest level, while the Belgian single is a lower-ABV (4.8-6%, according to the BJCP) blonde ale with a distinct yeast expression, a Belgian dubbel registers a reddish-copper with a maltier backbone and a mid-level ABV (6.5-7%, according to the BJCP). With dubbels, Pauwels says the monks wanted a better beer to drink at their table, doubling the ingredients—malts and hops. “The tripel was a logical evolution,” he says, “a triplication, obviously,” referring to the higher strength (typically 7.5-9.5% ABV, according to the BJCP). Westmalle’s Trappist Tripel hits on the highest end—9.5% ABV.

Westmalle, as it’s known by most, is credited with first popularizing the tripel. Many brewers and drinkers consider the Westmalle Trappist Tripel as the OG version.

Despite its popularity today, Pauwels says it took a while for the tripel to catch on. He can’t really pinpoint what caused the change, but people started discarding the dark dubbels in exchange for lighter-colored blonde ales like the tripel. He says the beer first began to rise in the 1980s. But over the last forty years, Westmalle’s tripel has…well, perhaps tripled in popularity.

“It has been more than fifteen years since the tripel surpassed our dubbel,” Pauwels explains, noting the Westmalle tripel is now about seventy-two percent of the total volume of Westmalle.

A lover of tripels, Edinger knew that once he nailed his homebrew tripel recipe, it was time to take his hobby to the next level.

In 2021, he and his wife, Stacey Edinger, opened a Belgian-beer-focused brewery in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York.

“We knew we had to do something different,” says the former aerospace engineer. “Selfishly … we liked Belgian beer!”

Photography courtesy of Brewery Ardennes

Those like the tripel, which Edinger describes as a complex beer that’s very approachable.

“You have these delicate flavors interplaying with each other, but it’s also a little sneaky,” says Edinger, whose first tripel was a Chimay White. “Here’s this beer that’s very light in color and pretty drinkable, but it’ll sneak up on you!”

Sawchuck agrees, noting tripels are incredibly drinkable. It’s not like light lagers, where you might not notice how much you drink. “You are absolutely noticing what you’re drinking with a tripel,” he says, “but it’s just so good that it keeps you wanting more!”

Despite their irresistibility, Edinger says tripels have a “pretty muted” malt profile that usually includes a lot of Pilsner malt and some specialty malt.

Brewery Ardennes’ tripel includes a popular Belgian malt called biscuit that imparts a slight baked bread note to the beer, along with a bit of wheat malt to give its tripel a nice pillowy head.

At Westmalle, Pauwels says they select a specific variety of malts (which he couldn’t share with us) and malt them according to certain specifications.

Hopwise, a tripel should include a hop presence, “but I wouldn’t call a tripel hoppy in any way if you’re putting it up against an IPA,” explains Edinger, who uses East Kent Golding in Brewery Ardennes’ tripel. “Something a little dry or spicy, but not citrusy or piney.”

Pauwels reiterates that the hops in a tripel shouldn’t be citrus-like.

While he cannot disclose precisely what hops they use at Westmalle, he can say that they combine six traditional hops from areas like Bavaria and Slovakia.

He emphasizes one thing that separates Westmalle: They always use whole-cone hops instead of pellets. The Trappist brewery takes extreme care when it processes its hops. “Every flower passes through the hands of a colleague of mine,” says Pauwels, who explains that they separate the small branches and stones from the hops to make sure extra material doesn’t end up in production. “We put a lot of effort in, but we think it’s worth it, and you taste it in the result. It’s why we still work with the real flowers; it’s something special about our tripel.”

Another crucial part of the tripel that everyone we talked to pointed out—the yeast.

Photography courtesy of Brewery Ardennes

“It should give aromas of cherries, banana, maybe a little bit of bubble gum,” says Edinger, “very estery, perfumy.”

Edinger says they use a Belgian yeast strain of Trappist origin to give his version more cherry- and banana-like notes.

But he says some tripels might present with a little more spice on the nose—hints of clover or white pepper.

Pauwels agrees that the yeast is an essential part of Westmalle’s tripel. “The Westmalle yeast is very recognizable and gives the typical banana aroma,” he shares. “Also a very, very subtle smoked touch.”

Lastly, Edinger says that most tripels are brewed with some type of sugar, usually a light Belgian candi sugar, which, contrary to what people might think, doesn’t make the beer sweeter. “It actually does the opposite,” he says. “It makes the beer finish very dry or very digestible, as the Belgians would say.”

How Did International Tripel Day Start?

Photography courtesy of Meuse Brewing (on top), Het Anker (on bottom left corner), and International Tripel Day Founder Mike Sawchuck (on bottom right corner)

This somewhat underground holiday started (appropriately) in Sawchuck’s basement. One day, the craft beer fanatic who decided after his fortieth birthday to find something productive to do with his hobby sat down there drinking a Westmalle tripel, thinking about how much he loved the style. “I wondered if there was a special day dedicated to this style of beer,” Sawchuck told me. “I kept drinking that beer and thought the third day of the third month would be a fitting day [for the holiday].”

That first year, Sawchuck says, no breweries participated at all. “Just a couple dozen people putting up posts on March 3rd,” he explains. “But even that amount of response was enough for me to say this could have legs.”

Putting more effort in the second year, the full-time urban planner from Ontario reached out to four local breweries, who all participated, putting together mixed four-packs of the breweries’ tripels.

In 2024, Sawchuck set a goal to get ten breweries in Canada to participate. With fifteen breweries on board last year, Sawchuck passed his goal and even brought on his first Stateside brewery, Brewery Ardennes (one of our “13 Best Breweries to Watch in 2024”). “That blew me away,” says Sawchuck. “How the heck did they hear about this?”

For the record, Edinger doesn’t exactly remember how he learned about International Tripel Day (it could have been through an email thread or a news article). But once he heard about the holiday, he immediately thought, “Tripels are our favorite, so how do we become a part of this?”

This year, International Tripel Day will feature twenty-seven breweries across five countries and four continents.*

Perhaps most excitingly, Sawchuck secured Westmalle’s participation.

“We have a very big heart for this initiative,” says Pauwels.

Last year, Sawchuck visited Belgium for the first time with Belgian Beer Me Tours. The group’s leader Stu Stuart started introducing Sawchuck around. “The next thing I know, I had half a dozen brewers in Belgium [agreeing to participate],” says Sawchuck.

Along with Westmalle, Chimay, St. Feuillien, Achel, Het Anker (Gouden Carolus), John Martin Brewery (Waterloo Beers), and Omer Vander Ghinste (Tripel LeFort) will participate.

“It’s surreal,” says Sawchuck, who joked with himself that by 2033, he would go to Belgium to celebrate Tripel Day with Westmalle. “It was something I never could have imagined happening, so the fact they’re participating is a pretty big deal!”

Although he’s already hit many of his goals, Sawchuck only sees International Tripel Day continuing to grow.

“Forty breweries,” he says with a big smile—that’s the goal for next year.

Where Can I Celebrate Tripel Day This Year?

Photography courtesy of Brewery Ardennes

Celebration looks a little different at each participating brewery, so make sure that you check with each location ahead of time.

For instance, at Brewery Ardennes, they’ll do a limited release of their bourbon barrel-aged gold medal-winning tripel. Plus, they’re hosting a beer-pairing dinner with a bunch of different tripels.

Westmalle will only post on social media for its first year, but Pauwels hopes the Trappist brewery will expand its participation in the coming years.

Sawchuck says he’s seen a few different value adds, from beer tastings to special releases. He says many participating breweries will do weekend food pairings or even create unique tripel-themed menus.

“One played well on the tripel theme with three different courses a part of a meal priced at $33 and came with a thirty-three percent discount if you bought any bottles of tripel at the brewery,” says Sawchuck.

Check here for a complete list of participating breweries.

What Are Some Good Tripels to Try?

Photography courtesy of Brewery Ardennes

New to the style or just looking for a few recommendations on tripels to try? We’ve got you covered. Here are our suggestions for the best versions to seek out and enjoy. Just make sure you bring a friend. With most tripels northwards of 10% ABV, you can probably only have a few at a time, right?

“Tripels are this revered and respected beer that I think has this cult following,” says Edinger. “Both fans and brewers secretly love a good tripel when they can find one!”

Westmalle Trappist Tripel

“If people want to try the true OG, that would be the Westmalle Trappist Tripel,” says Edinger.

Westmalle only makes three beers, the tripel being one of them, so its process is dialed in to a T.

“The only mission we have is to do every day better than the day before,” explains Pauwels.

Brewing its tripel has been refined over time and is now as much a science as an art. While they won’t share the malts or hops used in their tripel, Pauwels says that while the best equipment is available in their brewery, the hops are still processed entirely by hand.

“That’s irreplaceable,” he says, which makes the Westmalle Tripel so unique.

When you pour this beer, Pauwels says you should get a nice, dense pale head with very small bubbles.

The aromas will depend on the age of the beer, with younger Westmalle Trappist Tripel presenting very crisp with a little bit of hoppiness, while three- to six-month-aged Westmalle Trappist Tripel will give you more of that banana-like aroma. “A little sweeter in the nose, typically with aromas of raisins and honey,” says Pauwels.

From the first moment you start drinking, this tripel will give you a pleasant alcoholic warmth along with a sweetness, with waves of bitterness increasing without being too much. The beer finishes with a lovely, dry aftertaste of hops.

“The tripel of Westmalle is a very balanced beer,” says Pauwels. “Nothing too much. It’s not too hoppy, not too sweet, not too carbonated. Just the fine balance that really puts our tripel in a very special place.”

Pauwels recommends drinking a Westmalle Tripel between 8-14°C (46.4-57.2°F). “It’s no shame to take a Westmalle out of the fridge about fifteen minutes beforehand,” he says. “It’s very rewarding to try it a little bit warmer.”

He also says that if you don’t have a characteristic chalice-like Westmalle goblet, find something similar, like a wine glass. This “helps liberate the aromas.”

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Chimay Cinq Cents (White)

Edinger from Brewery Ardennes says Chimay Cinq Cents (White) was the first tripel he ever tried. He enjoys the yeast character, which is more fruity and less spicy.

“We love it; we revere it so much!” says Edinger. “It’s a little cleaner on the malt side. … You get that grassy, spicy, dry finish, a very characteristic European hop finish.”

When it came time for Edinger to make a tripel at Brewery Ardennes, he said that, unsurprisingly, they modeled theirs after Chimay White.

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Brewery Ardennes Tripel

Brewery Ardennes Tripel starts with Pilsner malt, some wheat malt to create a soft head of foam, and a bit of Belgian biscuit malt.

“So you get a little bit of that baked bread in there,” says Edinger, “although very subtle.”

For sugar, Edinger adds a light dextrose, “which is what most of the Trappists use, as well as Duval,” he explains.

East Kent Golding hops give a dry, spicy, grassy finish, characteristic of the style.

In a bespoke flourish, Edinger finishes with a bit of orange peel, which isn’t necessarily customary, “but a very little bit of bitter orange peel in there gives just a tiny, tiny hint of citrus.”

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Photography courtesy of Brewery Ardennes

Brewery Ardennes Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel

For those with experience with tripels who are looking for something that pushes the boundaries further, we highly suggest Brewery Ardennes Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel.

Going even further, Edinger takes Brewery Ardennes’ base tripel and ages it in fresh, once-used oak bourbon barrels from Finger Lakes Distilling.

“As soon as those barrels are dumped and still wet with bourbon, we put the tripel in them, usually for a minimum of two months,” he explains.

Time in barrels gives the tripel notes of toasted vanilla and bourbon.

“I’m really proud of this beer,” shares Edinger, noting this tripel has awards, including a gold medal at the 2023 International Beer Competition. “A lot of people said you wouldn’t want to put [a tripel] in a barrel because it would be overwhelmed. But I think the tripel, although light in color, has got enough complexity and oomph to hold up to those bourbon and oak notes.”

Looks like Edinger was spot on.

For the icing on the proverbial cake, Edinger puts this special beer in a bottle with a cork and a cage. He lets the beer bottle-condition to a higher level of carbonation, “so you get that extra spritziness,” he says.

This tripel is a true celebration through and through.

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Meuse Brewing Tripel 2023

Meuse, a twenty-five-acre farm brewery in Norfolk County, Ontario, is one of Sawchuck’s favorite participants in International Tripel Day.

A husband-and-wife team with roots in Belgium and the Netherlands, Meuse have “been huge supporters since day one,” says Sawchuck, who notes they’ve also participated all three years. “Their Tripel, which was brewed for the first time for Tripel Day 2023, won Gold at the Canadian Brewing Awards in 2024.”

According to the brewery, as lovers of Belgian-style beers, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to brew a tripel and participate in International Tripel Day.

“Our Tripel exhibits a spicy and fruity yeast character presented over a soft, grainy-sweet malt backbone,” writes the brewery in the beer’s Untappd description. “Do not be fooled by its drinkability, as these beers are robust!”

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Brouwerij Van Steenberge Tripel De Garre

Photography courtesy of Grace Weitz | Hop Culture

By far, one of Hop Culture Senior Content Editor Grace Lee-Weitz’s favorite places she drank in Belgium, De Garre, might be the country’s best-hidden gem, literally.

Half the fun is finding the tavern tucked into one of the smallest streets in Bruges (hint: Look for a rusted wrought iron gate with a “De Garre” street sign above it). But once you do, you’re initiated into a secret society.

Well, actually, once you’ve downed one of their tantalizing tripels, you’re genuinely a De Garre denizen.

Served in a bulbous glass, the house Tripel comes with stiff-peaked foam, super creamy and fragrant.

Drink, digging underneath the whitecaps to find a slightly honied, estery tripel.

Will you come up for air with a foam mustache? Probably. But that’s the other half of the fun here.

The smoothness of this 10% ABV makes it dangerous enough to warrant serving each glass with a little dish of cubed cheese.

Drink one slowly if you can, waiting before you order another because this one will hit you fast.

We admit it’s hard, but try your best!

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Allagash Tripel

Look, we’ve never shied away from our love of Allagash’s first beer; Allagash White, a version of a Belgian witbier.

But a sneaky second favorite for us is the Allagash Tripel.

The Portland, ME-based brewery starts with a base of its two-row barley blend before hopping with Nugget and Hallertau and fermenting with its house yeast.

“This strong golden ale carries herbal notes of passion fruit in the aroma,” writes the brewery in the beer’s Untappd description. “Suggestions of honey and biscuit are found in the beer’s complex, varied palate. … [Our] Tripel offers up a complex, yet dry finish.”

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Allagash Curieux

For the more adventurous tripel drinkers, Allagash, like Brewery Ardennes, offers a deeper exploration. Actually, Curieux was Allagash’s first experiment with barrel-aging. Taking the brewery’s base Tripel, Allagash ages it in bourbon barrels for six to eight weeks. After aging, the beer gets blended back with a fresh portion of Allagash Tripel.

The result for this 10.2% ABV, 4.05-Untappd-rated Belgian Triple is a “rich, golden ale featuring smooth notes of coconut, vanilla, and a hint of bourbon,” writes the brewery in the beer’s Untappd description.

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Unibroue La Fin du Monde

A cult classic, Unibroue’s La Fin du Monde has earned global recognition for its recognizable flavor profile of grains, fruit, and spice.

“It is a tribute to Quebec,” writes the brewery in the beer’s Untappd description, “the land encountered by sixteenth-century French explorers who thought they’d reached the end of the world.”

Get lost in the depths of this rich, golden 9% ABV Belgian tripel.

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*Number at the time of publication