St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition

Formerly brewed at St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Watou, Belgium

Poured brown with ruby highlights. The head was creamy and off-white. The aroma was malts, light yeast, dark fruits and some faint chocolate. The flavor was some raisin, yeast, chocolate and a bit of roasted malt. The mouthfeel was expertly crafted with a nice rush of warming alcohol towards the finish.

750ml bottle, with thanks to footbalm! Pours a clear mahogany color with ruby highlights and a large foamy off-white head. Noticeable specks of yeast settle quickly to the bottom of the glass as well. Aroma is a lovely spicy belgian yeast, candied and dried dark fruits, caramel, some floral notes as well. Flavor is more of the same, with a great balance of sweetness and spicy yeast without becoming overly sugary. Very smooth, very drinkable, and highly enjoyable. Wow, top notch stuff, thanks again Eric!

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is dry, floral, cellar notes. Flavour is sweet, dry, floral, caramel, alcohol, hop, cellar notes, spices. Full bodied world class beer.

750 ml bottle. Pours deep brown in colour with a decent head. Shows a little bit cloudy. Aroma is sweet, even some raisin showing through. Flavour is intense, leaning toward sweet, but nicely balanced. Not highly carbonated. A treat to try!

750 ml. Deep amber with reddish highlights. Large, fizzy off-white body that slowly diminishes to a thin layer of bubbles. The aroma is fruity with raisin and plum. Notes of candy, sugar, dates, clove and moldiness/mustiness. The flavor is heavily sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderately to heavily sweet, moderately bitter and lightly acidic. Tastes of overripe fruit, cotton candy, vanilla, raisins along with the warming of alcohol and leaving a slight sensation of mold. Excellent mouthfeel with a full body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. Classic quad, though a little chewier and richer than Westy and, at the same time, not as complex and much sweeter. A little more bitterness would have helped the balance, but still tasty.

750ml bottle: Brown pour with ruby highlights. The aroma is sweet and fruity - a nice mix of brown sugar and banana. Raisin, burnt caramel, cherry, cane sugar all add to the complex nose. Big, sweet body. Lots of candy sugar sweetness along with a healthy dose of caramel sweetness equals a really sweet experience. The complex yeast adds nice depth and some Golding influence helps counteract the sugar, but it wins in the end.

Finally opening one of these after at least 2 yrs of cellaring. Half a bottle down, no supper... feeling wobbly! Dark brown with ample murkiness after the sediment dump. Each pout has produced a very large foamy light brown cap that leaves endless lacing and good retention. Nice aroma, exactly what I expected here: raisin, plum, ample soft spices (cloves mainly), candy, dates, brown sugar, salt, yum! And the taste... very very good! In no particular order: caramel, brown sugar / molasses, obvious sweetness, nutmeg, raisins, light smoke?, touch of alcohol that is no distraction, tasty! Somehow I drank 750ml of 11% beer in under an hour and neglected to review it until the final glass full. Mouth feel is very smooth, ample bubbly carbonation early on, light bitterness after drinking the sludge. Looks like I will need a re-review when I open one of the other ones that are still sitting after all this time. Excellent brew, next time I will put it up against a St. Bern 12 ABT of the same vintage to compare.

Bottle, thx to henrikb. It pours a cute amber to copper body with microfloaties and a creamy beige head. Cellar, dried fruits, sugars and spices blend nicely in the aroma. It’s sweet, smooth and warming in the mouth, full-bodied and nicely carbonated. There’s flavors of white sugar, dried fruits, some alcohol and caramel sweetness, with a nice bitterness in the finish. Just really lovely. 090724