Westvleteren 12

Brewed by Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Westvleteren, Belgium

Bottle from BelgianBeerGal - thanks Amy! So this was probably the first beer that I was almost nervous to drink. Ok, not nervous, but I was very aware that this is the holy grail of beers and I really wanted to do it justice. Because of the hype I wanted to make sure I didn’t overrate or underrate it--just drink it and give an honest opinion. Contrary to popular belief, angels didn’t sing and monks didn’t chant upon opening the bottle. I poured it into a Duvel tulip, and it formed a nice foamy tan head above a cloudy caramel brown pour. The nose was a little sharper than I expected (though it is 10.2%) with bready cherries and a bit of sharp booze. The taste, however, was fantastic, complex and lasting. It’s yeasty sweet bread on one sip, syrupy, caramel sweetness the next. Tried to pick out what I was tasting, but it was hard. Found some cinnamon, honey, faint chocolate, and some lingering yeasty breadiness after the sip was long down my throat. It’s smooth as hell, pretty chewy, and just coats the glass. There’s a touch of sharpness on the finish, but that doesn’t detract too much. While it wasn’t a religious experience, it was a fine beer that I’d love to lay down for a couple years.

Bottled 0,33L. Bulky and incredibly creamy head, much resistant and long-lasting one. Black intense color, dense, impenetrable, solid, fraught aspect. In mouth it’s explosive. Extremely creamy and liquery with overbearing and intense alcoholic content. Much complex to describe. It introduces however optimal aromas of braced malt, wine, stum, roast caramel.

A - Pours dark brown, a small amount of light peers through my Dogfish Head snifter. Small amount of off-white head that quickly disappears leaving a small amount of bubbles and a some around the glass. S - Smell is amazing...sweet candy, cherries, apples, plums, malt, burnt sugars. T - This beer is sweet, but not overly so. Lots of fruits, sugars, candy, all very balanced...for the taste, perfectly balanced and not overdone with a clean finish. M - Light (leaning towards medium) bodied, perfectly carbonated, and smooth. D- I am going to revisit this one as much as possible, but this beer is not something I’d consider going to a bunch. Every now and then will keep this one special.

In de Vrede, Great looking brown beer with little foam. aroma is fantastic and rich. It is sweet, complex and hoppy. It has taste of honey, caramel, sweet bread and hops. Fantastic beer.

Pours a light caramel color but sits dark brown/opaque in the glass, settling into a small beige head with good lacing. The first thing to hit me from the aroma is spice... nutmeg, cinnamon, molasses, vanilla...then grains, a bit of a yeasty/bready note with subtle hits of raisin and cherry. Notes of leather. In the mouth: bread, caramel, light cherry, finishing into darkchocolate/coffee, nuts. A perfect level of carbonation leaves the mouth warm and tingly. Not sweet, not bitter...excellent balance. Finish goes on forever. The finish really sells this. It is seriously ridiculous, rivaling my favorite 99pt Sauternes. Savor this.

Rich looking Nectar, warm brown, with small beige head on top. Aroma is like heaven, Honey, caramel, rich sweet malts, dried raisins and soft hops.Taste is very refined with touches of milkbread, agorn sirup, soft malts, carameized bread crust, raisind and soft hops. A fantastic beer, or even better, I do agree that this one is "The King of Beers".

My first beer rating! Thanks to bhops for a bottle he brought back from the original source himself. This is one of the beers that I assumed that I would not ever have a chance to try and I have chosen it deliberately for my first rating. The sweet maltiness of the initial nose gives way to a dry grain flavor that becomes the flavor of dates and currents (my wife identified the currents). The next taste is cherry hints and chocolate, and the finish remains dry and clean. This beer is true and complex, dynamic and a very happy experience. This is one of those food and drink experiences that make you realize what a wonderful thing human inventiveness and craft really is. Thanks again to a Texas pug!

This is not a beer, it is a mystical experience. We must thank and to infinitely bless the inventor of this wonder of colors, aromas, taste and the whole rest. Cheers to everybody.