Southampton Abbot 12

tasted this again at the 2009 RBEXTPGH> Had the pleasure of sampling this at the 1/27/2008 Pittsburgh ratebeer.com gathering upstairs, Sharp Edge Creekhouse. It will be a long time, if ever, I see a spread of bottles like I did there - ever again. I am not good enough for the beers that were that we sampled! For example, how about this beer; S.H. Abbot 12! Sweet strong aroma, you know this has a kick right from the olfactory. Slightly darker than the typical pale ale. Surprisingly good carbonation for a quad, makes it much more acceptable. Not as strong on the palate as the 10% would indicate. Barely over the top. Acceptable to the lager lover.

Poured into the trusty Westvleteren goblet. Presents very nicely with an inch of tan head and a murky dark brown body with reddish amber hues. The carbonation is a bit fizzy however, and the head collapses soon leaving minimal lace. Fruity aroma, mostly cherry with other dark fruits in the background. Candi sugar also makes its presence known. A sip evokes that classic quadrupel taste; dark fruits like fig and raisin, chewy malt, a faint yeastiness, candi sugar. This beer however has something I haven’t picked up in other quads (except for 3 philosophers for obvious reasons): a nice subtle dark cherry flavor. The mouthfeel would have been spot on if it wasn’t for the overcarbonation here. It makes the quaffing rocky and belching frequent. Drinkability is solid. Easy to polish off a 750.

Bottle. Orange-Brown color with a quickly-disappearing fizzy head. Nice aroma of fruits (plum, apricot, grape), largely candied, wine-like notes, and even a slight lambic-like funk. Flavor was very sweet, often appley or peary in addition to the above flavors. Combined with a sugary, light mouthfeel, almost ended up tasting like juice. Decent, but I almost can’t accept it as a quad. 8-4-7-3-14/3.6

Rerate 8/10/08 Bottle. Gusher, massive head. Aroma has some fruitiness to it, but mostly dark malt. Flavor has fruit around the edges but is primarily just a bundle of soda. Far too sweet. My second 750 from Southampton in a row that was very much soda. This one wasn’t as bad as the 10th Anniversary, but still far from impressive, and a farther cry from its reputation.

Bottle courtesy of beastiefan2k. Pour was ruby brown in color, flat with no head really, but the bottle had a firm pop upon opening, strong appearance of carbonation bubbles rising steadily to the surface. The aroma was caramel, toffee, nuts, grapes. The flavor was all of the aroma plus some boozy notes, chocolate, toasty, bready, molasses flavors. The spices and dark fruits were notably missing for the style, almost came across as an imperial oktoberfest or barleywine if I didn’t read the label. A little sticky, very malty mouthfeel. Thanks, Eugene for this wonderful experience!

(750ml bottle, thanks Shadrach) Large beige head atop lightly hazed brown body. Aroma is sweet, raisin, bubblegum/candi sugar, caramel, some grape, plum. Taste is sweet, raisin/plum, caramel, pastry, some almond, honey, light herbal/grassy, alcohol burn. Sweetness intensifies as the beer warms. Full body that is effervescent with some stickiness -- these qualities make it hard to drink more than a smallish sip at a time. Alcohol noticeable but not unpleasant.

This was a great Belgian beer and while I feel that my tastes have changed from Belgians, this one was still very good.

When I first drank this beer several years ago, it was one of my favorites. It seems like they added some flavors that to me do not add to the beer. Tried it a few months ago in a comparison with St Bernadus Abt 12 and Rochefort 10 and it was way too sweet and could not hold up to the Belgians. So tonight I tried it by itself. I still don’t like it. Nice nose though.

750 ml bottle shared with Pete. Purchased out in Mass, flown home. Sutble aroma mostly consisting of dried fruits, slight oak, and alcohol. Flavor is similar, mostly dark dried fruits, little heavy on the alcohol. Stronger on the palate than the aroma would indicate. Huge frothy head, although a tad airy and lacking much sticky lace. Very very very reminiscent of a St. Bernardy 12. Solid and enjoyable.