Westvleteren 12 (XII)

Brewed by Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Westvleteren, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass

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UPDATED: OCT 8, 2007 Rich chocolate aroma, dark fruits and slightly malty. Unbelievably well balanced beer. Somehow the flavors unite to create new unique complex chords. There are no off notes in this beer to speak of. Each flavor fits perfectly with the others. A true masterwork and no doubt made with divine inspiration. In retrospect, I was one of the luckiest people on earth to have been able to buy half a case of this stuff before leaving Chicago. Needless to say its all long gone now...

15.10.05 Deep,beautiful,ruby red,colored liquid with a pillowy,off white head.Aromas of bread,rich malts,hops. Mouthfeel is extremely soft,delicate,and just candyish. The beer has enough flavor the alcohol is welcoming. Vinous,rich,sweet flavors fill the mouth and don’t let go. Bready,somewhat grassy finish.So smooth and such perfect carbonation.Alcohol never became offensive or overpowering.

UPDATED: JAN 22, 2008 Dec, 2002Soft and sensual. Fellatio, cunnilingus - whichever way you like it, and call it what you will, this is oral sex of the highest order. [5.0]
2003With friends in Devon. I love this. Simply stunning. [5.0]
Oct, 2007Chris_o tasting. This was a 1996 bottle I picked up at The Cracked Kettle, Amsterdam. Yeasty and bitter. Ovaltine. Good condition. Sweetness in there. A dense beer which doesn’t give up the flavours and pleasures easily. [3.3]

Dark amber-mahogany color. Large thiny and creamy beige head. Aroma is sweet with caramel, raisin and slightly alcoholic notes. Flavour is malty too, with candy sugar, banana and dried fruits tones, ending in a short slightly spicy finish. Medium to full bodied.

UPDATED: DEC 25, 2003 Pours a dark brown with very dark ruby hued edges. Has a large foamy head that lingers as the beer is drank. Lacing is quite nice to boot. Aroma is extremely pleasing. Apples, pears and banana. Coriander. Some yeast, but not much. Barely a hint of alcohol detected. So good. Flavors. Very balanced. Fruit again, this time a bit more banana, maybe some orange that gives it a slight bitterness to it. Spices are lingering. Again, I'm finding the coriander. Sharp and tangy finish. Creamy palate and a big body. This is definately a great beer. I would like to thank Buck_Dich for my first bottle last Christmas, and my girlfriend for my bottles this year. I need to move to Belgium.

UPDATED: JUL 5, 2007 Head creeped out the bottle shyly, (maybe from being tossed in luggage too long). Strong alcohol smell with sweet carmel thickness. Brown sugary fruity taste, drank warm. Lovely gift.

UPDATED: DEC 31, 2006 Another powerful beer. This one had a dark brown to almost black color. The taste was very strong but not overwhelming in the alcohol department. The taste was reminescent of Chimay but with a much more noticeable anise taste. A lot of sediment in the bottle I had. This was VERY memorable and I can"t wait to enjoy another. Will rerate then when I have another to get a better taste. But this was definitely worth seeking out. Highly recommended. (9, 5, 10, 5, 19)

Re-rate. Bottle. Cap reads 27.11.06. Apparently, this has "expired". Muddy crimson/copper mix with only scattered froth on the surface. Nose is dark fruits (raisins, plums, figs), sweet malts, caramel, light toffee, and light alcohol. Taste is rich and sweet. Creamy malts, ripened dark fruits (black cherries and raisins), light alcohol, caramel, light spices, and light yeast notes. Body has thinned out a bit. Light-medium overall feel and not much carbonation left. Still rather creamy, though. Finishes with a touch more alcohol, sweet malts, caramel, light spices, rum soaked dark fruits and some port-like notes. Still very nice! (8, 4, 9, 4, 17).

What a beer to drink on Christmas day! Best before 07-05. Overwhelming aroma of malt, cinnamon, plums and butter. Sweet and thick. Buttery with roasted malt, plums, licorice, some well-hidden alcohol, apple, raisin, porto, cinnamon and pepper. Amazingly complex and powerful, sweet and overwhelming, delicious beer. Without any doubt one of the best beers in the world.

color is deep orange/brown with a light beige head lasting very nicely indeed with some good lacing. aroma is perfumey with a little bit of alcohol present. ripe bing cherries, tiny bit of citrus, currant and melon are also present. also got a hint of new tire smell or nitrous gas at a dentist. flavor is a bit strong on the alcohol which diminishes quite nicely as it warms, but there are pleasant notes of peach there. ok, the comparison with abbaye des rocs...i’ll take abbaye any day of the week and twice on sundays. ok, that may be a bit strong, but i do prefer it to westy. i chose this as #501 to be my starting point for the next 500!

UPDATED: DEC 27, 2005 Had one shipped straight from Belgium. Not too much head as I was expecting, but everything else delivered. I don’t think i’m up to giving the flavor impressions yet, i’ll need more of them. Extremely soothing, complex, and got me way more drunk than I expected.<P>Rerate of a 2001 edition - 4 years old, wow, mellow, complex, yummy shit. Still, I lack the words.<P>Rerate again of a 2002 one, with more time on my hands: Deep orange bourbon mahogany color, thick retentive head, light lacing. The nose shows complete circle of life here. The water yields the earth, which yields plants such as apricot, figs, grass, floral notes. The plants support animals that create honey. The honey supports other lives and so on. Very clean, pleasant, full bodied yet mellow on the palate and easy drinking. Finishes delicious. So herbacious and fantastic that still, even when I try, I want to spend more time with the beer than the notes. What can I say?