CulturAle Press

Ten Top Tripels: #10:   Vieux Lille Wal, Lille, France

Date:  March 1, 2019

The Story—  When we did our search to find out top 10 for the past several years we found some Belgians, which was no surprise, and several Americans, which only surprised us in their numbers.   That a French Tripel would push into the top tier, however, was indeed a surprise.

We found this beer at the Brewberry bar in Paris.  If you let your GPS wander you through backstreets from the Latin Quarter past the institute where Pierre & Marie Curie discovered radium, you pass through very quiet neighborhoods until you emerge onto Rue du Pot de Fer, a narrow but rockin’ block of brilliant lights and cheek-by-jowl cafes, where we discovered Brewberry, a cute tiny studentish place sporting about 4 tiny tables outside, and inside a small standing bar area and a handful of rickety tables behind them. Ellie discovered a teeny snug back by the toilettes with maybe 3 more tables and we settled in for a fine night of tasting.  They have about 24 taps, of which 19 were open with mostly French beers.  It’s not the easiest bar to get to in France, but it’s a gem.   Watch closing time and the last train from the nearest Metro, though taxis prowl after closing for grateful and generous tippers.   (How do we know this?)

The Beer—  It’s a genuine tripel beer:  Rich malt wiht lots of fruit with tropical flavors that run to kumquat with a nice pepper finish lasting well.  It’s still a fruity fruit and maybe a bit much for the style, but the pepper rides really well.  A fine beer at a fine bar.

Value —  Very good.  Six bucks for a quarter liter of an 8.2% French mind-fogger.  For Paris it is a bargain.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

 To start the month of March we’re featuring our top ten tripels over the past several years– these are wonderfully complex and even delicate strong golden ales.   At their best, Tripels are among the best beers in the world.   At their common norm, they’re heavy handed, big-boozed and barely better than the malt liquors of the 20th century.   Here are ten beers that could show the rest of the country how it’s done.

 We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”