St. Bernardus Prior 8

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

bottle. cloudy mahogony with frothy off white head. big matls, baked wheat bread, floral hops, fig and raison aroma. smooth, medium body. sweet malts, mild sugars that fade as it warms, dark fruits. some bready notes. dry and slightly bitter finish. very nice.

Classy and classic belgian. Hazy brown look with a huge head, collapsing abit faster than the nr 12 one. Aroma is rich of different esters, raisin, prunes and bananas. Palate is exploding yet velvet, allowing the different esters to show in the moutharoma aswell. Flavor is very complex, triggering all your tastebuds in an extremly plesant way. Nice warming finish and a tickling mouthfeel. Good one

330 mL bottle. Hazy medium brown with big foamy white head. Aroma of yeast, raisins, sugar, and malt. Sticky and lively palate. Taste of molasses and candy finishing with a spicy alcoholic warmth. Quite good.

Shared bottle. I only had a small sample of this, but it seemed excellent. Definately the same family as my favourite Abt 12. Malts, caramel. Full mouthfeel. I really wish I could get my hands on a full bottle.

Bottle at Trappistenhuis, Gent. Huge off-white and creamy head on top of this dark brown beer. Maybe served a bit too cold to fully enjoy the yeasty and somewhat spicy aromas. Caramel flavours with spicy yeastiness and alcohol. Full-bodied, medium carbonation. A beer that oozes craftmanship.

11.2oz Bottle Poured the Prior 8 into it’s very own St. Bernardus goblet. Poured a murky deep dark brown/garnet with yeast sediment even after a careful pour. A one finger head off white head sat on top that faded to a thin cap rather quickly. The body is loaded with small sediment. It does look inviting though like there is going to be all kinds of flavors coming through. The smell has a lot of fruitiness to it. Figs and prunes come to mind first. An earthy mustiness comes through barely noticeable along with an old and slightly leathery quality. The backbone of this beer is a lightly toasted bread aroma. All this goes very nicely together. The flavor is where it’s at. There is a very noticeable sweetness but it’s layer upon layer of flavors that casue this sweetness. The dark fruits come through first. Prune and fig just like in the nose sprinkled with some brown sugar. The earthiness comes next with must and a dark old leathery taste. All going very nicely together I must add. As I type this I notice it’s the exact same as the aroma but without the toasted bread. It’s more along the lines of dough. I even get hints of chocolate as I sip. Finishes with a candy sweetness. Really nicely made. Mouthfeel is key on this beer as well. It’s very creamy and as it slides along my mouth, right before the swallow, it turns almost to froth. Fits very well with all the other aspects. The body is coating. Drinkability is good. It’s an easy one to put away. I can’t drink too much of any Belgian but this is an easy one to do so. Another wonderfully made beer from St. Bernardus. An easy drinker for sure and one I will enjoy over and over. 1/8/07

Dark brown with off white head. Dark fruits. Nearly as good as the Abt 12.

light brown w/ medium head. fuity, malty aroma. mostly molasses and malt flavor. nice mouthfeel. very good overall