St. Bernardus Abt 12

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

Playful. Jubilant. Smooth. Caramel? Toffee tones? Nuts? Deliciously subtle palate seeks deeper inquiry.

Pours with a three-finger light tan head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Cloudy brown/amber color. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Nose is raisin/caramel. Starts sweet has a raisin/caramel flavor, mellow finish; better as it warms, hints of alcohol. Part of a gift 4-pak that was $17.00 from Tully’s Beer & Wine Wells, ME. Best before date of Aug 13, 2014 - I couldn’t wait!

Dark reddish brown with a medium-sized tanned head. Great head retention and lots of lacings. The smell is full of fruit esters - blackberries, figs, plums and apples. Very impressive. Sweet dark malts and notes of fudge, grass and yeast. The taste is very balanced and complex. Sweet dark malts and fruity flavors (figs, plums, apples) up front. Caramel, gentle spices, dry wood and a hint of yeast. A hint of chocolate. The finish has a nice bitter twist to it with plenty of malt aromas, lingering fruit esters and warming and well integrated alcohol. A very tasty brew. Medium to full bodied, very smooth texture despite generous amounts of carbonation. This is one of those Belgians that are just unbelievably balanced and tasty. Although I’ve had lots of beers I like better, there’s something about a beer like this that makes them come out almost as perfection in a bottle - everything is at its place and I wouldn’t want to change a thing. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Dark brown color, with a beautiful, creamy head. Attractive aroma of very sugary caramel and signs of fruit. In mouth it is very faithful to the style, sweetish, with a slighty bitterish end. Full body.

Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a pint glass. The color is a dark black with about two fingers of brownish foamy head. some lacing of the glass. The smell is sweet but a bit musky, gives me visions of trees or leaves falling. A hard core flavor apple and a little bit of clove. The taste is malty with some dried fruits. There is some pear flavor mixed with a bit of a creamy/sugary flavor that gives out a great kiss the the senses. The feel gives a great Belgian flavor beer. It’s hard to really say more than that it just gives off a great flavor and it is full bodied beer with some great flavor and is easy drinking.

From tap at the Demervallei. Pours a nice darkbrown beer with an even more beautiful beige head which leaves lots of lacing behind. Aroma is full of fruit. Taste is even more fruit and is very smooth with a nice bitterness on the end. Mouthfeel is excellent and very soft. I didn’t liked the bottle version, but this tap version is just perfect.

From 750 ml. bottle into tulip on January 1, 2010. Pours a dark brown with moderate tan head, which lingers along with substantial lacing. Aroma of dark fruits (fig, raisin) with caramel malt, yeast, and a bit of spice. Taste is very well-balanced, not too sweet, very smooth and a bit oily. Typical of the abt/quad style. Alcohol warms along the way. A very enjoyable bottle on a cold winter’s night - well worth the price. Cheers!

one of my favorite beers. Real nice rich brown color in the pour. Has a real nice creamy head. It bursts with aromas of fruit. The taste is extremely fruity and smooth also. So smooth you dont even realize its 10.5% which can be a problem.