St. Bernardus Abt 12

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

Overdue and much deserved rerate. Bottle coded 14 12 11. While aroma is not over-the-top, it is a perfect blend of all kinds of dark fruit and spice, hint of alcohol. Big raisin, plum, rotten banana and some fresh mollasses like sweetness in the background. Flavor doesn’t live up to aroma but still hard to beat. Tons of dark fruit. Plums, fig, raisin, and again big mollasses background, hint of alcohol. While highly carbonated, still has a soft/billowy mouthfeel. No idea what was going on with my first bottle, but was nothing like this. Notes from tap at Barley Johns, huge fruit, banana, prune, raisins. 9/5/8/5/18.

11 oz bottle - dark amber color with nice fluffy off white head. Aroma has raisins, figs, caramelized sugar and a hint of coffee. Flavor is dry, sweet and malty, nutty, brown sugar and a touch of something else – banana perhaps? Has a faint alcoholic bitterness aftertaste.

Poured from fridge into cold tulip glass an foam nearly overflowed glass. Had to spoon it out. Light malt, light hops, and earthy smell. Off white, lasting head with good lacing. Deep reddish brown color. Little bitterness, Moderate sweet finish. Dreamy creamy soft texture. Full body and moderate alchohol. Great Belgian Abbey beer. I bought a case of it at $3.59/bottle. Interesting history.

Bottle. Very sweet smell. Pours a generous head, dark amber look. Flavor is mildly sweet with pleasant carbonation. Hint of fruits (cuurants?) with a small malt presence. Very good and very smooth quad. Cheers!

Rating reflects aged sample. Re-rate: Bottled BB 2004, sampled end 2009 (about 9 years old). Dark brown colored, small brown head. Complex, but not very strong nose of malts, raisins, dried fruit, molasses, port-notes. Fantastic flavor, all complex components of the aroma, wonderfully balanced, sweet and bitter. Extremely long-lasting finish, dry and bittersweet. One of the most well-balanced brews i know. And it doesn’t even taste like it peaks at this age, it might even get better when older.... Fantastic brew, and well worth aging. Original rating: This is a very nice one! One of the best aroma’s out there, strong, fruity, sourness and some caramel. Appearance is nearly perfect: cloudy dark-brown with a thick long-lasting head. Very malty flavor, full and a bit fruity. Nice smooth and long lasting finish. Alcohol is very well hidden. The only flaw of this beer is perhaps that it’s a bit too sweet, but aging could make this better. I’ll keep the second bottle in my cellar for a few years. If i can wait... ;-)

on tap at the Moan and Dove. damn, i really enjoy drinking this beer. the glass is so nice too. lots of chocolate, fruits and yeasty goodness in every wiff and taste of this wonderful brew. very rich, yet very easy to drink and the alcohol content is well hidden. delish!

This is a great beer, the model belgian abt beer. Strong 10% thats hidden well. Beautiful dark brown color not murky but dark. Floral flavors and a sweetness at the end. I love it and I want more of it.

I’m on a Belgian Quad rerate binge. This is also some great stuff. I would prefer a bit more malt but good stugg all around.

Bottle at the Hopdevil... only Deus and Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer left.
Poured an extremely dark red, almost black colour. Vinuous and sourish nose with raisins and alcohol. The taste has a beautiful smooth malt profile, a bit chocolatey, that merges perfectly with the warming alcohol finish... dark fruit, prunes dipped in alcohol, somewhat spicey, herbal, nutty, dry... The aftertaste is a bit light and gone quickly. Complex and obviously a great beer but I expected more.