St. Bernardus Abt 12

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

Serve in Trappist glass

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UPDATED: AUG 14, 2006 [re-rate - it’s been a while since I’ve had this, and it seems a lot more astrigent than it used to be - the flavors are also a little less balanced, with sweetness bordering on cloying - still a tasty belgian, but not great] Dark, dark ruby in color, with a frothy, cappuchino-like head and lovely yeasty aroma, with hints of chocolate and raisins. Heavy carbonation with fine suspended particles. Medium to full body, nice creamy mouthfeel dispite the high carbonation. The flavor has some spice to it, with fruity flavors from apples to bananas. Lots of malts come through near the end, which serve to cut the alcohol presense that manifests after having the beer in your mouth for a few seconds. Malts dominate the finish, with a nice caramel and toffee flavor. Some of the banana flavor sticks around at the end as well. A nice Belgian, Trois Pistoles meets Westy 8.

Draught at De Zolder, Brugge. Magnificent dark red brown hued with a doughy thick head. I found the draught to more flavoursome than previous bottles, there was whiskey like malt, oak, late tobacco and some banana. Luckily it wasn't carbonated and when it had warmed somewhat it gave out a delightful alcohol glow. Great beer.

Has a very cloudy amber color with quite a few "floaties" in it and quite a bit of carbonation. Smells of fruit and alcohol. Taste is of spicey alcohol and finishes kind of fizzy with alcohol flavors. Overall I am just not into the Belgian styles, it was pretty good, better then most, but the fizz/carbonation is what kills it for me.

Deep brown. Fluffy white head. Smells like fresh bread dough. Tastes like orange and spice with just a hint of lemon. Alcohol comes through clear on the finish.

Pours a slightly hazy copper w/a verly light beige head, which collapsed very quickly to larger bubbles. Interesting array of aromas; bananas, green apple, alcohol, slight raisin, and a little bready. Flavor is well balanced and clovey; fruity and alcoholic. Maltiness is overtaken by hop flavor and bitterness in the finish. The raisin and green apple aromas don't come through to the flavor though, but you do get some banana in the aftertaste. The body seems medium, which might be affected by the high carbonation level. Although the alcohol is very noticeable and has a slight burning as opposed to warming. Very good beer, but not one of my favorites.

Good head on the deep brown/black liquid. Overipe bananas can be detected in the aroma. Licorice and bubblegum flavors along with caramel and toffee in the aftertaste. Sweet spicyness coats the mouth and the alcohol clears the sinuses. A bit too sweet for just one person on the bottle, best to shared with another.

Pours a very dark, cloudy brown color with a small, off-white lingering head. Strong aroma of fruits, yeast, spices, and alcohol that is very similar to the Abt 8 though slightly stronger in the alcohol department. This beer is very complex, full bodied with lower carbonation than the Abt 8. The flavor is chocolatey, fruity, yeasty, and bready. Very smooth and worthy of praise, this beer is one of the better non-trappist Abbey ales I have had.

UPDATED: FEB 18, 2003 Dark amber colour, with a thin, creamy and persistent head. Strong and intense cherry aroma. The flavour is complex, but a bit unbalanced: a little bit too sweet, with strong taste of cherry and traces of caramel and banana. Huge alcoholic aftertaste. Really good, but far from the perfection of a Rochefort 10...

Okay, supposedly this is made to the same recipe at Westvleteren 12, but I'm not seeing it. Huge, meringue head is appropriate to the style. Very sticky and I saw caves forming in the head along the sides of the glass as smaller bubbles became large but were unable to move because of the viscosity of the rest of the foam. The body is a very dark brown, cloudy. The nose is earthy, similar to some of the smells of a vegetable garden towards the end of harvest. The first flavor that hit me was cotton candy but this was while I was getting nothing but foam. It also seemed a little hot then. There's a butteriness to it that blends nicely into the chocolate and toffee malts. Ripe bananas over peaches a bit past their prime meld in nicely as well. Very low bitterness and the alcohol is covered extremely well. There's also a slight vinous character to it and there's something there that reminds me of the homemade wine my church uses for Communion. The mouth feel is very slick and creamy. This beer forces you to drink it slowly whether you want to or not. Since I'm enjoying it, I want to do so.

Cloudy lighter brown color, spicy apple and cherry-like nose. Creamy smooth and round on the palate. Sweet alcoholic finish.