St. Bernardus Abt 12

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Watou, Belgium

Bottle served in a tulip. Sediment rich cloudy brown in color with a huge, swelling light brown head. Good retention and decent lacing. Aroma is raisins, pit fruit, spice, alcohol, and malty sweet. Complex and very aromatic. Changing all the time. Medium-full body. thick texture, and oily. Sweet flavor and a touch salty. Alcohol is very evident. The finish is long and oily with minimal sweetness. Impressive.

11.2 oz bottle, pours a deep amber brown with a thick beige head. Aroma is caramel malts, raisins, various other dried fruits and spices - very complex. Flavour is extremely complex - caramel malt, raisins, figs, slightly sweet, very alcoholic, hints of toffee. Full-bodied mouthful, with an alcoholic finish. Outstanding beer.

750-ml bottle Whole Foods, Baton Rouge, LA - Aroma: malty sweet, raisins, dates, slight peppery; Appearance: hazy, deep brown in color, huge persistent light tan head, some laces; Flavor: malty sweet, salty, caramel, raisin, date; Mouthfeel: medium to full bodied, creamy texture, lively carbonation; Overall: a dark, very rich, complex, smooth, malty, fruity, and strong alcohol Belgian Abbey style beer with a dry-alcoholic finish.

Bottle. Both aroma and taste are very complex. Very dark brown color, big head, but the foam disappears pretty quick. There is some weird thing inside, I only can describe as "candy", maybe a bit like some kind of bubblegum. As well with smelling as tasting this "candy" comes accros. Very decent beer for special occasions, but I think it’s very hard to combine this beer with any dinner.

Big Bomber. Pours a dark chocolate brown with ample thick frothy head. Aroma is roasted malt and slight chocolate hint. Dark fruit and sweet malt taste, hints of toffee. Thick feel on the tongue, slighty alcohol finish....a great sipping beer on a cold winter’s evening. Well worth the price!!!

At vonk slijterij in zaandam, bottle 330ml, hazy brown, full fluffy head, lots of spices and parfumery flowers, grainy heavy bottom.

Appearance: Pours a murky deep brown (borderline black). An inch or so of off-white, foamy head lasts a good while, so long in fact that it was a bit annoying. The head is quite dense and frothy. Aroma: Not very aromatic due to the massive, thick head. With some swirling and settling I caught a little bit of the dark fruit notes. Smells a bit like dry champagne to me, maybe a touch of alcohol. Taste: What a complex beer we have here! First hit with dark fruit flavors, reminded me of red wine so I thought maybe grapes, currants, cherries or plums. I get a slight taste of some malts in there but the carbonation really brings out the fruit above all else. Not much bitterness if any. Aftertaste dominated by a dry alcoholic taste. Palate: Good effervescence makes for a crisp, dry finish but overall the beer goes down smooth and is perfectly balanced in the mouth. Overall: Definitely a new favorite, excellent Belgian ale in every way. The interesting esters and hints of malt combined with the ability to hide an ABV of 10% make this a deceptively drinkable brew. By all means grab a bottle and find out for yourself, a glass or two later and you’ll be damn satisfied- and DRUNK!

Poured from the bottle. Very nice hazy dark copper with perfect head. Highly carbonated, full bodied sweet and fizzy palate full of fig and raisin. Very complex beer with a sneaky kick. The alcohol is silent in this quad. Overall, I am very impressed, lacking a bit in aroma, but this beer is top notch.