We had enough disagreement over some of the tripels from our first round, that we did wind up doing a second round of tasting.  Just for fun, we got the top seven and did them all side-by-side.

Upon further reflection, a few interesting tidbits came out:

• We didn’t agree on an exact ordering, but we did wind up agreeing on the best three tripels (Westmalle, Chimay and St. Bernardus).  These are all slightly different takes on the style, and all very good.
• I didn’t like the Tripel Karmeliet as much in the side-by-side comparison.  It is much sweeter than the Westmalle and Chimay.  Especially as it warmed up, this didn’t hold up very well.
• Brouwerij ‘t IJ’s Zatte also did not stand up well to the side-by-side treatment.  Wind and I had almost diametrically-opposed impressions in the first round, and I came around to her way of thinking, as I found the herby, rosy flavor very grating.

Though these last two items really amount to the stronger-tasting beers not doing as well.  This might be because drinking seven beers at once just takes longer and they have time to warm up.  Regardless of the reason, the Westmalle really stood out as the clear favorite.