Tripel

[2] The style of Westmalle's Tripel and the name was widely copied by the breweries of Belgium,[3] and in 1987 another Trappist brewery, the Koningshoeven in the Netherlands, expanded their range with a beer called La Trappe Tripel, though they also produced a stronger beer they termed La Trappe Quadrupel.

[4] The term spread to the U.S. and other countries, and is applied by a range of secular brewers to a strong pale ale in the style of Westmalle Tripel.

[2] According to brewing historian Michael Jackson, the first golden strong pale ale associated with the term was brewed by Hendrik Verlinden of the Drie Linden (Three Lindens) brewery in the early 1930s, when ale brewers were looking to compete with the pale lagers from Plzeň.

[8] In 1933, Westmalle released a beer under the name Superbier; this was the year after Verlinden produced a golden strong pale ale for his own brewery, the Witkap Pater (now known as Witkap Tripel, produced by the Slaghmuylder Brewery).

[2] In 1956, the recipe was modified by the head brewer of Westmalle, Brother Thomas,[11] by the addition of more hops, and it then took on the name Tripel.