St. Bernardus Abt 12

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

Serve in Trappist glass

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11.2 oz bottle (best by 2-2-17) from Supermarket Liquors into a Duvel tulip. Dark, deep brownish appearance with a tan head. The aroma is Belgian yeast, dark fruits, sweet, caramel-like malts and candy sugars. Similar flavor, rich, malty and sweet with cloves and faint alcohol. Silky smooth and creamy feel with a full body. Complex flavor with a warming finish. Fuckin A-mazing.

Poured from a bottle. Redish brown with a big foamy head that eventually disapates to a thin cap, a twirl of the glass is all it takes to regenerate it. The lacing is outstanding. The aroma brings caramel, sweet bready malt, and hint of tart cherries... and a healthy dose of booze. The taste is sweet, but not overly so. The malts provide caramel and toffee and as the beer opens up a bit, the dark fruits really start to shine through. There’s a bit of spice (clove) in the finish and the whole thing warms you up a bit. The mouthfeel is outstanding - the carbonation gives the beer a crispness while maintaining smooth drinkability. Overall, a very enjoyable beer.

Overall: Sweet, high carbonation, young, but good.
Note: Bottle 330 ml at home. Reviewed 2013-05-03.

Well, Rochefort 10 is not so different then few would like to suggest. Not bad at all. Smaller top, less aroma and hard to characterize, prunes, hops, and alcohol on the nose. So the beginning is not as good, but the taste surprises, its more then I could smell: dark chocolate , prunes, overall heavy sweetness, figs, and the alcohol is present not on the background but balanced, peppery note at the back of my mouth hits last. It is actually rather good and will not let You down.

330ml bottle into a snifter. Pours a clear very dark ruby with really no head at all. Just some lace that swirls on the surface and also leaves a bit of wispy lacing. The aroma is very vinous with an almost port-like quality. Lots of dark fruit such as raisins, prunes, dates, and figs. A little bit of toffee and roast is in there too with even a very quick whiff of coffee. Quite deep and complex. The flavor outdoes the aroma in terms of depth with a huge hit of dark fruit and red wine along with plum and fig. Some underlying notes of overripe fruit and toffee with a touch of roast coming in at the very end when all of the fruit dissipates. There is just a light hint of bitterness and a breath of alcohol at the end with a silky mouthfeel and a lightly sticky finish. Overall, what a wonderful and complex brew. There is just so much depth of aroma and flavor here it is indescribable. Truly a world-class beer that all beer lovers should experience.

UPDATED: MAY 3, 2013 Right up there with goudon carolus blue.... Perfection.... One of my favorites... Delicious

Bottle at home in London - picked up somewhere in Belgium. Aged between two to three years. Pours clear, red-brown with a staunch, beige cream head. Plenty of sugary, semi-dark malts in the nose, rich toffee, some faintly tangy fruits, dates, plums, figs. Big sweet flavor with an explosion of ripening fruits, caramel, rich bready malts, some alcohol kick, prune, fig, banana. Full bodied with lively, massaging carbonation. The finish carries a fair amount of boozy warmth, with lots of sugary, bready malts, toffee and caramel, more ripening fruits such as dates and figs, plums, berries, bruised bananas, some dark cherries. Yeah, absolutely a world-class quad. One of the most drinkable 10%+ ABV beers I’ve had in a long time.

A - Pours a dark murky brown with a small tan head that dissipates quickly. S - Soft Belgian yeast. Clove, brown sugary malt, dark fruits. T - Dark cherries, plums, bananas, caramelized toffee and brown sugar. The malt is complex and comforting. The spices are soft and subtle. Has some ginger in the middle. Belgian yeast resides throughout. M - Medium to full bodied. Low carbonation. All the flavors melded together with perfect harmony. Soft but bold. A very easy drinker with the alcohol well hidden. The yeast has a subdued presence. Serving type: on-tap 01-03-2011

Much lighter than expected. A smooth, floral/fruity quad that hides the alcohol very well. Will be stocking my shelf with this one.

Supposedly a copy of the "best beer in the world", the Westvleteren 12. My personal experience: the Vleteren seems to have a slightly drier finsh. If you’re looking for a quadruple, then you can’t go wrong with the St. Bernardus, tho; this is truly world class.