Brouwerij Slaapmutske - Triple Nightcap

In Belgium, many beers are judged against such gold standards as Duvel's Belgian Strong Pale Ale or the Trappist beers of Westmalle and Chimay. It's an ambitious goal to attempt to improve on these remarkable brews, but that's just what Danny and Marleen De Smet have done, according to attendees of the 2nd International Beerfestival in Zwevegem, West Flanders, Belgium, held in 2002, who elected Slaapmutske Triple Nightcap as Best Beer in its Class. This honor was duplicated at the 11th National Beerhappening in Zottegem, Belgium. This beer is crisper and notably more aromatic than the other beers in the Slaapmutske line, not to mention other Belgian Tripels. The look is spot on: cloudy, golden-orange with a massive eggshell-toned head that persists and leaves the lovely Belgian lace beer fans have admired for centuries. The nose of this big brew presents rose-like floral notes, along with fruit scents (look for apple, pears and hints of raspberries and cream) which meld with a mild pepperiness. Citrusy hop notes are also quite pronounced, which is a bit unexpected for the style (but quite expected if you happen to know that it's brewed with two highly aromatic American hop varieties added not only during the boil, but also during extensive dry-hopping in the fermenting tank). The flavor is similar to the bouquet, but the massive hopping quickly makes itself known as floral bitterness rushes the palate and challenges notes of mandarin orange, rum-drenched plum and berries, bitter orange peel, and a distinctly peppery, somewhat spicy quality. The finish is intensely dry but long-lived with floral/perfumy hops prevailing amidst the alcohol and fruit notes and massive bitterness. Its complexity makes it a great match for steak tartare or game such as quail or rabbit. Also holds up to dishes that are heavy on the cumin, sage or tamarind.

When it comes down to it, brewing beer is much like having a child. The brewer has a rather parental relationship with his or her brew—it is born of themselves, sometimes behaves in less than desirable ways, and in the end, rewards the brewer's hard work with a sense of pride and self-respect. Many brewers regard their beers as their children, with each new beer becoming a member of the family. The story behind the Slaapmutske Brewery is, at its heart, a story about family, and the ways that family can nurture, support, and inspire success. Danny De Smet was born and raised in Melle, Belgium, a small town near Ghent (in the Belgian brewing capital of East Flanders). He graduated brewing school in 1992 as a brewing engineer. That year, he achieved an impressive milestone by becoming brewmaster at the renowned Huyghe Brewery (known primarily for their Delirium Tremens & Delirium Nocturnum beers with their iconographic labels featuring pink elephants). While working for this respectable brewery, he also developed his homebrewing skills when out of 'the office'. Over the years he has worked in various other industry positions as a brewing hygiene specialist and also served as an educator in Brewing Technology and Quality Control at the Ghent Brewing High School (brewing high school? Where were those when we were kids??) During the time spent honing his craft, he met and fell in love with Marleen Vercaigne, a fellow beer-lover from the neighboring town of Ronse. It was early in their relationship that Danny, as he puts it, "infected her with the beer microbe". Pretty much how we'd expect a brewing hygiene specialist to sum things up. The beer-loving couple spent a considerable amount of time crafting homebrews in their kitchen along with one of Danny's former Huyghe Brewery colleagues, Patrick Scheirlinck. Considering the wellspring of brewing that is East Flanders, it's no surprise that these young brewers had finely tuned palates which they used to guide themselves toward evermore inspiring brews. After creating many batches of homebrew together, Danny and Marleen married, and in 1999, they brought another bundle of joy into the world—their son Jonas. To celebrate their new arrival, Danny brewed a spicily-hopped, brownish-red beer of 9% alcohol by volume which was much appreciated by family and friends who came to visit little Jonas in the hospital. The beer was dubbed "Jonasbier", and soon people were keen on buying the beer, which got the proud new parents thinking about getting their homebrews on the market. After another "pregnancy", the couple birthed a new beer, inspired by the original Jonasbier formula, but they had yet to come up with a name for their new brew. One night while brainstorming for a suitable moniker, it happened that young Jonas was crying. As is quite common in Europe and elsewhere, the couple would often dip their son's pacifier in a little bit of beer to calm the child. This old trick was commonly used, but when the pacifier was dipped in their new, soon-to-hit-market beer, Jonas instantly stopped crying, was fast contented and quickly fell asleep. Marleen smiled and remarked, "This beer is a real 'Slaapmutske'" (which literally means 'sleeping hat', or as we would say, night cap). At that moment, the proud parents knew their newborn brew would be named Slaapmutske. Because it was winter when they developed their first batch of Slaapmutske, they named it Slaapmutske Winterbier, which they proudly released on the local Belgian market in 2000. The beer quickly became a local success, so much so that demand warranted brewing facilities larger than their kitchen. They promptly partnered with one of Belgium's leading brewmasters (Dirk Naudts, affectionately referred to by his nickname "the Prof") at his suitably named, ultra-high tech De Proefbrouwerij in nearby Lochristi-Hijfte. One year after their first beer hit the streets, they introduced Slaapmutske Blond, and in early 2002 they rounded out the Slaapmutske trilogy with Slaapmutske Tripel (called Slaapmutske 'Triple Nightcap' in the U.S.). So, while Jonas obviously couldn't brew, he was just as important in bringing these beers to life as his parents. It's fitting that the couple, brought together through a shared love of beer, were inspired with the name of their beers by their first born. The proud family of three has given the rest of us a family of fantastic brews—and for that, we'd like to thank Danny, Marleen and little Jonas!