St. Bernardus Abt 12

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

My first quad. And I picked a good one. I really didn’t know what to expect from this style. But I was instantly delighted by it. Poured a dark brown, with a light tan head. Sweet with ah int of dark fruit, and malty. Not hoppy at all.

Courtesy of dpjuart. Pours a deep burgundy with a creamy, fluffy off-white head. Smells of dates, prunes, raisins, molasses and brown sugar. Phenomenal, almost indescribable taste. Bourbon oak flavors meld with sweet brown sugar on top, followed by alcohol heat, with a long, grainy, fruity, and sweet finish. One of the world’s more perfect Quads.

What more needs to be said about this beer? A rich mohagony color with a puter head. Sweet with a hint of some fruit (raisin/figs), but not overbearing. Beautiful balance of hop and spice to back up that sweet entrance. The finish is as consistent as the rest. A medium carbonation finish leaves a malty flavor in tandem with just the right amount of hop. It’s called beer. It tastes good. Give me more. Oh, and it’s 10.5%. Who the hell would’ve known? 2 mangled thumbs up.

Bottle. Pours a very dark red/brown with a bunch of carbonation. Bubbles sticking to the side of the glass like soda. Has a medium size foamy white head that disappears pretty quickly. Strong and complex aroma of dark fruits and malts. Great smooth flavor that is refreshing and very complex. No complaints.

Large head with plenty of carbination. Deep coppery brown in color. Toasty banana smells. Flavor is a mix of fruitness, alcohol, and maltiness. Full and creamy in body and goes down smooth. An excellent beer.

Bottle. I’ve had this beer on tap in the past but I waited till I tried it out of the big bottle before I rated it. After pouring two glasses I did notice sharper aromas from the second pour due to, I assumed, the sediments from the bottom. Smells of molasses, light coffee, milk chocolate, herbs and perfume, doughy yeast, and raisin, dates, brown sugar and a little alcohol. Head was rocky, white, fully lasting and had excellent lacing. Color was a hazy brown. Flavor was moderately sweet, lightly acidic and finished lightly bitter. On the palate it was a chewy, medium to full, creamy with lively carbonation. There is not a thing offensive about this beer and I’d say the taste is just about perfect. A bit better from a bottle than a tap. More please.

Poured from a 11.2 ounce bottle into a snifter, deep ruby red with a medium beige head. The aroma was sweet, fruity and full of malt. The taste was sweet and creamy with notes of dark fruits and malt. Very smooth and well balanced. There is very little alcohol present at the start, but it becomes more noticeable as it warms. For my money one of the best beers in the world.

I have been waiting awhile to try this mother. This beer pours a murky copper/dark amber color. The head on the beer was very frothy with large bubbles that stuck to the edge of the glass for a good deal of time. I smelled raisins and malt. The taste was of the classic Abt/Quad style. The taste is dried fruit, carmel with carbonation and alcohol. The mouthfeel is tremendous as the beer really coats your whole mouth and warms you up as it goes down. The beer got better with each sip, as I think it was a little to cold on the first few sips. This is a tremendous beer and is in my top five beers of all time. I have a bottle of the special edition aging in the basement. I am extremely excited to try that one next.