Looking at the label for the latest from Flying Dog — called Kerberos and brewed in the manner of a tripel — I can’t help but grin because this image of Hunter Thompson climbs into my head. He’s speeding along Belgian country roads, “chanting” loudly, stopping only to dash into each monastery he comes across, terrorizing the monks, grabbing beer and heading off again.

You might be surprised to find the beer inside is less gonzo, more traditional. Friends and I tasted it this week alongside Captain Lawrence Xtra Gold, much-loved on the beer ratings sites (and one I was pretty enthusiastic about in All About Beer magazine last fall). It would be interesting to see how they scored were they tasted blind and using style guidelines.

The Xtra Gold seems more like what Dr. Thompson would be swigging from a bottle at high speed, because it is stronger and hoppier (the tangerine/orange element has gotten even more prominent with age; is that all really from the Amarillo hops?). I give it high marks for the interpretation, but while I devote many pages in BLAM to notion that trying to brew Belgian-inspired beers “to style” is a fool’s errand the fact is that Xtra Gold might not be what you’d anticipate if you’ve been in Belgium and sampled a variety of tripels. Flying Dog has put the flavors you’d expect in a 12-ounce bottle and some of the finesse as well.

Executive brewer Matt Brophy and Lead Dog Eric Warner talk about how they did this in a video Flying Dog created:

What do I like about Kerberos?

The flavor. That may sound horribly simple, but the good esters are there, the bad phenols aren’t and while “heat” (alcohol) is a little distracting at 8.5% this beer is almost subdued by American standards.

What might make me like it better?

Were it more “digestible.” More carbonation would be a start. Kerberos is bottle conditioned, but I’m guessing this is in the range of 2.5-3 volumes, and would be better at 3.5-4. Quite honestly, it wouldn’t be prudent for a brewer to aim higher without packaging in a heavier bottle.

When I was judging beers last year in our state fair one of the other judges referred to me as “Mr. Attenuation” so consider that when I suggest that this beer would be better were it dryer, and better still with more hops (adding a bit more bitterness and perhaps sprucing up the spicy character of the yeast).

But that’s me.

Yes, I cringe when I hear the guy at the beer store explain to a customer that Tripel Karmeliet is “triple fermented.” Like a tripel re-fermented in the bottles is different than a dubbel . . . sigh.

Or that some drinkers are under the impression that a tripel is “triple strength.”

Thus I point you to a wonderful post from Martyn Cornell: Everything you wanted to know about X.

Although La Trappe gets a mention the point is not to explain the Belgian terms. It’s mostly about Britain and the history of denoting beers X, XX, XXX and just keep going. But you should be able to connect the dots.

Phil Leinhart, currently director of production at Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, will replace Randy Thiel as brewmaster.

Thiel is returning to his home state of Wisconsin to become director of quality control at the New Glarus Brewing in New Glarus.

Thiel has been at Ommegang since the brewery opened in 1997.

In 2004 he became the first American brewer knighted by the Belgian brewers’ organization Chevalerie de Fourquet (”Knights of the Mashing Fork”), receiving the award during a celebration held annually in Brussels. An hour-long parade blocks traffic around the busy Grand’Place, with members of the Knights of the Mashing Fork marching in colorful robes to the ceremony, which itself goes on for some time.

Leinhart has worked in the brewing industry for more than 20 years, in England, Germany and the United States. He has experience in breweries of all sizes, from brewpubs to production microbreweries to the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Newark, N.J. He joined the Ommegang staff in January of 2007 to develop increased brewing capacity and manage installation of new packaging and brewhouse equipment.

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a feature on the monks at Westvelteren and their cult beer: Trappist Command:Thou Shalt Not Buy Too Much of Our Beer.

Reminded me that I addressed this question last month at Amazon.com, but not here so . . .

InventorSpot posted what Seth Plattner calls the 10 Best Beers with Balls of 2007. The premise is that the “beers on this list push the limits of conventional brewing.” So you get Midas Touch Golden Elixir-The King’s Beer and BILK - The Weird Guy’s Beer (since it is made with milk).

Also Westvleteren 12. This entry could have used a little fact checking. Besides referring to a distributor (the monastery sells beer only at its gate and the inn it runs next door) there’s the assertion the beer is “so named due to its 12% alcohol by volume.” This despite the fact you can read 10.2% on the photo with the story.

So why Westvleteren 8 (not quite so strong) and 12? And why Rochefort 6, 8, and 10?

Until the early 1990s, Belgian brewers measured gravity in Belgian degrees. This could, and can, be calculated by subtracting 1 from a beer’s specific gravity and multiplying by 100. Thus a 1.060 beer would be 6 degrees.

Today brewers measure in degrees Plato, but the beers may take their names from the former standard. Thus, Achel referred to its initial beers as Blond 4 and Bruin 5 when it resumed brewing. Westvleteren and Rochefort also call their beers by degree numbers as well as by the color of their crown caps.

When Westvleteren 12 was introduced in the 1930s it apparently started at 12 degrees (28 °P!) and was 12% abv. These days the starting gravity is about 21.5 °P. About because it truly varies from batch to batch. When I visited the brewery I saw notes where consecutive batches started at 21.5, 21.1 and 21.7.

That’s one of the things that makes Westvleteren special. Even though these batches will be blended into a larger lagering tank after primary fermentation not every — heck, not any — Westy 12 is exactly the same. It 12 will lager until it is appropriately clear. That’s generally about eight weeks, but can be 10, the monk in charge of brewing explains, “when you get a difficult one.”

Belgian law permits brewers more tolerance when listing alcohol content than in the United States. The listed content may vary by 1% alcohol by volume, compared to .3% in the States. The Westvleteren 12 will be between 10% and 10.5%

Duvel Moortgat has begun selling a version of its classic Duvel with additional hops, calling it Duvel Tripel Hop.

The limited edition beer (approximately 20,000 bottles) is available mostly in Belgium, with some sold in the nearby region. Current plans do not call for a second edition of the beer, nor for any of it to be shipped to the United States.

“Trippel” in the name refers to the fact the beer is hopped with three kindsd of hops rathr than the usual two, and at a higher hopping rate (though not three times a much as Duvel, which measures 30 bittering units).

As well as using Syrian Goldings and Saaz in this beer, as is typical, the brewers at Duvel included the American hop Amarillo in the boil, then dry hopped with Styrian Goldings.