St. Bernardus Prior 8

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

Deep copper color, with big tan head. Fruity pleasant aroma. Yeasty malty flavor. Fruity. Pleasant to drink. Really enjoyed it. Good stuff.

Well here’s my rerate from a 3.1 rating, it appears the original was a bad bottle. Poured a bright rubyish hue, a tad darker than pure red. 3 finger head with sheets of lacing - enough protein that my tulip glass shapes the head. Aroma is strongly fruity with plum, date, persimmon coupled with a mild caramelization. Flavor starts with a pillowy body fleshing out lots of sugary malts, and a slight fruitiness. Next, a yeasty spiciness couples tightly with a light alcohol burn through the finish. Lingering banana and phenol. Nice big Belgian, but not as smooth, complex and well-integrated as it could be.

Well, another beer perhaps ruined by the disturbance of yeast when cap was opened. My westveletern did this to me last time. It opened with a nice ’pfft’ and yeast came rushing to the top. therefore making it impossible to get a ’dregless’ pour. The bottle hadn’t been disturbed for months so that is not an issue. My opinion of this brewery is slowly diminishing. I love the Triple but the 6 and the 8 are ’bogey.’ I am sure the Abt 12 will be nice, got that coming here soon. This just tasted too dag gone similar to the 6; just a little more beefy. Rummy nose as ’Oakes’ put it, with raisins, dates, and alcohol. I don’t care for the hard water in this as I didn’t in the 6. Taste is alcohol, caramel, cocoa and hints of passion fruits. Sounds better than it really tastes. Other than I can see it aging well, this is a disappointment.

Deep brown in colour with a creamy beige head. Aroma has some malt, lots of apples, bread and some sweetness. Flavour of malt, licorice, caramel sweetness, plums and yeast. Finish is very malty with a medium bitterness.

The pour is a very dark brown with a slight reddish tint. Stars with a nice sized head that leaves quickly with a layer remaining. Aroma is very spicy and peppery - very clean and sharp. Mouthfeel is very thick and filling - lots of carbonation. Taste is very malty and rich - lots of caramel, generous amounts of yeast. There is some spiciness in the taste, but not nearly as much as the aroma predicted. The beer laces as much as I’ve seen. Great beer from a legendary brewery.

draft at the Stumbling Monk in Seattle - Pours dark reddish brown. Smells of malty sweetness and dark fruits. The same comes through wonderfully in the flavor along with a touch of spice. It’s medium bodied with an excellent creamy mouthfeel. There’s a hint of alcohol in the finish, but this one is so easy to drink and so good. Great beer!

Dark brown with a froathy creamy head. Floral aroma with a sourish tint. Very rich malt fruit flavor which leaves a nice smooth after taste.

Sampled from an 11.2 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark brown color with a medium sized tan head. The aroma is somewhat faint but has sweet, yeasty and bready elements. The flavor is strong and very malty with ripe fruits - raisin and plum particularly and hints of chocolate, toffee and caramel. Wonderful!