Westvleteren 12 (XII)

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

Serve in Trappist glass

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Bottle, deep red, aroma of berry, grape, sweet malt. This is I think the only trappist brew I hadn’t tried, at first it tastes similar to the others, however, the flavours run so deep here and the aroma and mouthfeel is massive, you can understand and appreciate why this beer gets, and deserves its reputation. Deep and stunning Belgian ale. Wonderful.

33cl bottle. Pours dark red with substantial creamy off-white head. Red grape, fruits, and hints of yeast in both aroma and taste. The palate is sugary (from malts) and dry at the same time. Subtle touch of alcohol. Medium body, perfect carbonation. A really unique Quadrupel, but a little too vinious for my taste. Good stuff anyway.

From bottle at In De Vrede in Westvleteren today. Poured dark brown with a beige head. Aromas of dark fruit, spices, clove, yeast, sugar. At the first sip, it doent’ all come together right away. A few sips in, it all starts. Extremely complex and balanced beer. A masterpiece.

Westvleteren XII: 10.2% bottle from Rakuten 6-pack 2012: wow, what a beautiful looking beer! It pour a dark rich brown with a bit of a reddish tint. A thick head of beige foam with massive staying power(5 minutes and it has barely moved!) Fantastic mouthfeel, you can feel you are drinking a meal. The aroma is like a red wine or port, sweet, malty with maybe a bit of nuttiness. The flavor is a bit boozy, plum, bread, a bit of biscuit, port, a complex beer full of flavor. Having recently had a Dark Lord you can definitely put them in the same class, different kind of beers but ultra-high quality. Any beer that reveals new flavors with each sip rocks!

Been waiting for this one for so long, and finally they have available it in a BeerShop in Zagreb. I got a bottle from my girlfriend Anja for Valentine’s Day, a big thanks! Pours dark amber to brown with a massive beige creamy head that holds on fantastically. It instantly releases a rich fruity and bread-like aroma. First taste notion is sweet, then a warm, slightly alcoholic explosion of taste in the mouth that calms down after some time and leaves a longing trace with some dryness in the finish. Aroma is malts, dried fruits, raisins, strawberry, toffee and others, one can go on exploring the taste in this one. This is by every mean an excellent beer, though it didn’t surprise me as much as I expected, due to it’s reputation.

Bottle 2012 [090413]
Very dark caramel brown, dense frothy tan head, good lacing for the abv
Aroma of rich dark spicy fruits, rich fruity malts, soft alcohol soaked raisins, vine fruits, bready malts, very complex, superb belgian yeast aroma, complex yeast esters
Taste as aroma, very rich dark fruity malts, raisins, alcohol a little noticeable but compliments the taste, very complex. dark spicy fruits, bready malts, great flavour
Palate - Medium carb, full bodied, very smooth, rich quite sweet complex dark malt palate. dab of alcohol. Finish is very smooth, warming alcohol, more complex flavours, cleans off palate well
Overall - It’s a superb Quad - I think Rochefort 10 and Pannepot have a slight edge on this but maybe an older bottle is superior. Fantastic stuff!

First bottle I’ve had since 2002, shared bottle with missus at aux vieux Bon tiemps brussels this stuff is unreal dark fruit chocolate figs caramel malt lovely carbonation wonderful mouthfeel so intense and complex this has everything pannepot st berny abt and rochefort 10 have and the rest no alcohol burn tastes like I imagine a beer would in medieval times. I have bottles in cellar for special occasion boom!

Hazy medium brown in the glass with a tan head. Aroma of toast and dried fruits. Rich, luxurious mouthfeel with fine carbonation and a seamless transition from start to finish. Starts with a pleasant sharp hop bite and then fades into a toasty, nutty malt body. Hop bitterness reappears on the finish. Exceptional balance. Good length on the finish which stays balanced throughout. Not even a hint that you’re drinking a 10%ABV beer. This was a remarkable beer, something everyone should experience at least once.

Poors in dark brown with a brownish head. Aroma is that of dry dark fruit, raisins, caramel, ... perfect. Flavour starts of sweet, dry fruit again, a bit caramel and chocolate with a hint of alcohol in the aftertaste. This gives you a warm mouthfeel and a smile from ear to ear. Extremely well balanced. None of the ingredients is dominant, everything is in a heavenly balanced state. To me it definitely lives up to the hype. The only downside is of course the availability. We drank a St. Bernardus 12, 33cl and 75cl corked bottle, after this one because some people clame that it’s almost the same recipe as the Westvleteren 12 but there is a huge difference. (Bottle 33cl)

Bottle 330 ml. A dark brown colour with a small light brown head. An aroma of malt, caramel, alcohol and raisins. The taste is heavy sweet and medium bitter. A really complex yet well balanced beer. Refined and elegant!