This is Old Belgium

Who’s up for some beer trivia? Last night on the way home from work I picked up a bottle of Triple Karmeliet, brewed by the Bosteels Brewery in Buggenhout, Belgium. As an aside this is the same brewery that makes Kwak beer.

Here’s the commercial description found on the bottle:
”Blonde, robust, smooth, and fruity three grain top fermented beer, refermented in the bottle. Brewed with pride and patience after Karmeliet tradition with wheat, oat and barley. 100% natural.”

WTF does all this mean, you might ask. So, in no particular order…

Triple: Unlike the Albertsons brand vodka you kids drink on Friday nights the term triple has nothing to do with the distillation process (or the lack there of as the case may be) but rather the number of different types of grains in the beer. A traditional triple (not unlike the beer in question) is sometimes called a three grain ale and is made with oats, barley, and wheat and is generally high in alcohol content.

Refermented in the bottle: This is how these things get so darned alcoholic (read: this is where the fun comes from). Most triples are bottle conditioned meaning the beer is bottled before the end of the fermentation process and left to mature inside the bottle – this being the reason why some yeast residue can be found at the bottom of these types of beers.

Karmeliet: other words that come to mind are Klooster, as in the English word Cloister, as in the local Nun-ery. Karmeliet refers to one of several different types of beer made by members of the clergy, another being abbey ale.

100% natual: as far as this statement goes, all I can say is this is a perfectly normal and natural thing.

This shaz was 8.0% ABV. While enjoying its complex aroma and fruity yet spicy taste I could literally feel the fuzzies come into my fingertips by the sip. Crazy.