St. Bernardus Prior 8

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Watou, Belgium

11.2oz bottle, fridge cellared for approximately 1 year. Best by date (?) 04 08 10.
Wow, this beer has some head on it! Towering rocky white head, very crystalline in appearance. Slow to recede, and leaves excellent lacing. It takes a while to see enough of the body to tell the true color, which turns out to be a very dark purple, almost red wine type color. Nose of white grapes, candied sugars, cherries, funky/musty yeast, bread dough and peppery spice. Bright fruits, sugars and yeasts continue to dominate into the flavor profile. Very wine like all the way around, really, from appearance to flavor. Some spice kicks up at the last instant. Medium-heavy astringency. Vinous, almost feels like drinking a sugar free fruit juice or drink. Finish is medium in length, grapes and figs, then pretty much yeast and some alcohol hints to finish everything out. Great stuff from a great brewery.

Red and dense color, malt spices with a glorious inch-tall head which recedes into a floating foam. Dense carbonation matched with yeast, dark bread and bitter fruit. Dry finish with some sweetness remaining. Not my favorite, would much prefer chimay blue which is a similar style .

33 cL bottle. Pours dark brown with a reddish huge and huge light brown/off-white head. Fruity an light medicine like aroma. Flavour is smooth malty with hints of chocolate and some spice notes. A smooth yeast flavour shines through. There is a slight banana fruity flavour beneath. Faint and soft liqourice note. Finish is more of the same smooth malt notes and a start of a winous feel. Otherwise extremely well hidden alcohol. Nice but not fantastic.

redish brown color, malty rum raisiny nose. Big malt flavor, biscuit/candi sugar and port like. I did not detect any sourness, and it’s a perfect beer on a cold winter night. my favorite from saint bernard.

Was actually not as impressed with this one as I was with 6 or 12. Pours a brown reddish color with a tope creamy head that last through out. Tastes of candy and belgian sugar. Also of dark fruits and raisins. Just ok but the taste was not excellant.

Bottle (33 cl) at Tre små rum, Göteborg, Sweden. Murky reddish brown with a creamy beige head. Fruity and toffeish malt aroma, delicious, with some wooden notes and yeast. Medium bodied and smooth. Good balance with a dry finish. Very good but lacks complexity.

Al naso il floreale prevale quasi da subito su una lievissima nota di tostato. Il caramello sembra prevalere pur alternandosi a frutta secca, dolce. Ottima!

0.33l, bb 19 04 12. Turbulent and hazy, dark orange-brown with a huge creamy head leaving nice frosting. Spicy biscuit, caramel, rum and cola aroma. Big, delicious flavors of dry-spiced raisin rum cake with brown sugar-caramel icing are tempered nicely by some dry, bitterish hops and yeast. Nearly medium body, with a lot of tingle. Only complaint about this beer is that it literally fizzles apart and explodes with CO2!