St. Bernardus Abt 12

Bottle from Whole Foods in Columbus Circle NYC. Hey hey they’re the monk-ees! This offering from my boys at the abbey was excellent but not quite deserving of a Top 50 rating. Dark reddish-brown color with an off-white head. Lots of head - if you are a bad pourer then you could have a foam party with this one. Great aroma of sweet malt, abbey ale yeast, candi sugar, and dark fruits. The flavor is strong, malty and fairly yeasty with a deep fruity quality - plums and raisins mostly. Smooth mouthfeel.

Foam came out of the bottle literally like a volcano when I opened it; so much for savoring the smell before tasting it! Aroma is spicy-strong alcohol and dark fruits with a bit of a grain flavor. Flavor is like a black plum with wheat and a bit of hops. Overall a lighter flavor than the Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12; the former has an overripe banana kick, the latter has a smoky licorice and leather bite. Bernardus has nothing specific; it doesn’t have the distinctive character or long-lasting savor of those beers, so those who can’t stand too strong a flavor will find this quad easier to take. Decent, definitely conforms to the Belgian style of beers, but personally, I’d take a Storm King Stout or a Corsendonk Christmas Ale or an Achel Extra Bruin over this anyday. It just doesn’t stand out from the crowd. I would, however, definitely recommend this beer to people who aren’t used to the Belgian flair and can’t get their hands on a Rochefort or, better yet, Westy 12. It’s well-blended and shows the drinker what a quad is like without having to work as hard to get the elusive Westvleteren beers.

A- Pours a dark red hue with no visibility, head is HUGE- 4 finger’s worth of creamy off-white goodness that dissipates to craggy caverns and remain throughout, lacing is phenomenal and long-lasting S- Nose is mostly floral, wheat, with a nice touch of bubble gum sweetness, some dark fruit and vanilla, belgium candy, slight alcohol, DELICIOUS! T- Initial taste is characterized by those sweet dark fruits (think raisins), followed by molasses and brown sugar, finishes with subtle bitterness and a slight alcohol warming M- Medium-bodied ale, smooth to watery texture, lively and biting carbonation D- This beer completely lives up to its billing and appears to be a prototypical belgian quad, nice complexity and balance will lead to drinking this slowly over time particularly at over 10%

This beer is incredibly complex. Pours cloudy brown with a tall thick beige head. Has a strong yeast and malt flavour, Dark fruits dominate the palate. You can taste the 10%. This beer is marvellous, but I could only have 1 or 2 at a time. Not my favorite.

Pours brown with a light tan head. Many aromas including fruits, spices and brown sugar. Many fruity flavors in the taste including plums and apples, as well as caramel and cloves. Almost creamy or silky. An excellent overall beer.

This is a great beer. Doesn’t have the feeling of a 10% abv beer. Great dark color with a pleasing aroma. A good amount of head. Very good taste, with different flavors creating an amazing experience. Bottle.

Very sweet for a 10%. Small head but sparkling texture. Amazing fruity tones with a bite of spices. Excellent .

Wonderful dark pour, perfect head, aroma explodes with fruity tones, malty sweet and very balanced with caramel.