Triples

[jogoode]

Thanks for being with us, you two.

My question is about beers that have been fermented over two times. Does this method only add to alcohol content or does it help develop flavor? Are you fond of any triples?

[Alekeep]

Single, Double, Triple. These are relative terms. A Quadruple is not equivalent to two Doubles.

Single is a light session or table beer, Double is generally a darker malty (sweet) beer, Triple is usually a stronger blonde, and a Quadruple would be an even stronger amber. Although these styles are progressively stronger there is no linear scale for strength or color.

There is no double fermentation unless you count the refermentation in the bottle for conditioning and natural carbonation. This, however, is done for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, homebrew, English ales, many other beers, and is not specific to these styles.

All of the malt and other sugars are usually in the wort (unfermented beer) when the yeast is added to begin the transformation into beer. Quantity and types of ingredients and brewing techniques determine the how much sugar (potential alcohol) and how attractive (fermentability) these sugars are to the strain(s) of yeast used, and therefore the resulting alcohol content of the finished beer.

There are exceptions with beers such as Sam Adams Utopias or Dogfish Head World Wide Stout that break the scale at over 20 percent. These may start with a fairly high concentration of sugars (original gravity) but during fermentation additional sugars, yeast nutrients, oxygen, and more yeast are added to coax the alcohol level up.

Does this help develop flavor? Of course. Alcohol is only one of the flavor components in beer. A lot of the flavor and body of a beer comes from the unfermented sugars and the by-products (other than alcohol) of the yeast. You may also have flavors, depending on the style of beer, from hops, spices, herbs, vegetables, fruits, and any number of other ingredients that have been used in beer production over the centuries.

The first Triple that comes to mind from my favorites list is Tripel Karmeliet from Brouwerij Bosteels, Buggenhout, Belgium. Tripel in the name is actually for the three grains (wheat, oats, and barley) used to brew the beer. It still fits the Triple category with a light blond color and an alcohol content of 8 percent.

Thanks for your question. I hope this makes sense to someone other than me after a couple of beers!

[cdh]

Are quadruples traditional at all, or are they a modern invention... the marketing equivalent of the amplifier that goes to 11? The only european quad I've ever seen is from La Trappe... are there others? Any recommendations?

[jogoode]

There is no double fermentation unless you count the refermentation in the bottle for conditioning and natural carbonation. This, however, is done for Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, homebrew, English ales, many other beers, and is not specific to these styles.

...

Thanks for your question. I hope this makes sense to someone other than me after a couple of beers!

Thanks for the detailed answer, alekeep!

I'm not sure why I thought some beers were fermented four times. In asking the question, I was thinking of a beer I tried recently, a new beer from Allagash, a Quadrupel. At least I think it's new -- it's not listed on their Web site. It was high alcohol, but very smooth and full of flavor.

[Alekeep]

I'm not sure of the history of the use of Quadruple as a style of beer or any official guidelines for it. I personally think of "Belgian style" beers that are blonde or amber in color, well carbonated, with little hop character, some light fruit and/or spice character, and 10% abv or above, as Quadruples.

I can only think of a few beers that use "Quad" or "Quadruple" in the name but there are others that fit the category.

- Victory V-12, Victory Brewing, Downingtown, PA, USA

- Bush de Noël (Scaldis Noël in the US), Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl, Leuze-Pipaix, Belgium

- Mother of all Beers, Port Brewing, Solana Beach, CA, USA

- Urthel Samaranth, Brouwerij De Leyerth, Ruiselede, Belgium

P.S.

I won't try to describe "Belgian style" beer. That is a lot like saying "European style" wine. Belgium is a small country, about the size of Maryland, with hundreds of breweries and even more styles and variations of beers. Many towns have their own brewerys with beer like you will find nowhere else. You'll have to spend a couple of weeks there and find out for yourself!