Westvleteren 12

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

Serve in Trappist glass

This bottle was courtesy of lotsaswigs (thanks Eric!) at DLD. The bottle was from ’08. It poured a dark raisin brown, very cloudy, with a light cream colored head. The head was ultimately smooth and creamy and sat atop the brew in such a delicate manner. It looked exceptional! The aromas consisted of a lot of yeast, bananas, cloves, freshly baked bread, and it had a sweet and dry malty finish. The flavors were very full and consisted of bananas, yeast, freshly baked bread, and some type of nut (hazelnut perhaps). It was simply delicious. It was very full in body and quite thick. It was also exceptionally smooth. Wow, this is hands down the best Quad I’ve ever had. What an amazing beer. Thanks again Eric!

2005 from Bottle Wow, this beer lives up to the hype for me. I don’t think Ive ever had a beer this complex. Those Belgians are onto something here and very well might have a future in brewing. The appearance is typical for most quads Ive had. Maybe a bit lighter but nice and almost clear. The thin white heads fades fairly quickly. Very little lacing. The nose is outstanding. A little sweet but more than anything plums and grapes. Really surprised how much fruit I’m getting on the noise. Maybe some faint vanilla and bitter orange. For being two years old its still fairly warm but not overbearing. I know its a high ABV by the taste but its doesn’t knock me over either.Actually the warmness doesn’t come into play until the finish. The taste is self is a nice and balanced sweetness in combination with some plums and vanilla. The mouth feel is great. The carbonation is low to medium and doesn’t not put off any of the sharpness some over carbonated beers tends to do. Really enjoyed this one cant wait to get the next.

2006. Smells so delicious and has some heat. Raisons, oak, fig. The taste in the palate seems to be most prominent in the back, although upfront, there is strong caramel flavors and malt upfront. I absolutely know my palate needs to be more advanced to understand this beer.

On bottle 33cl, the aroma is very complex, lots of fruits. color brown/black, liquid hazy. The taste is a blessing very good taste almost everthing on your tonque. There the best beer on the world for me!! The best Quadruppel ever.Drink the bottle 2 years old the rest put away for over 10 years

Bottle at Mikkeller Bar. September 17, 2011
Pours brown almost black with a creamy, slightly airated head. The aroma is rich and complex with a alot of spices, chocolate, dark dried fruits, yeast, caramel, easters and fruits. The taste is to me a bit rough regardless of what everyone else says. It’s full bodied though and packed with flavours similar to the ones in the aroma. Very rich and flavourful.

Had this once before, when I was only starting to like proper beer. Dark beer, not entirely opaque, hint of copper in the colour, nice off white head. Aroma is certainly the best in all of Belgium, dryer and less alcohol/raisins than some of its peers (for instance St. Bernardus 12, which some say is pretty much the same beer - it isn’t). Especially the roasted, nutty flavour is something I have not found this much in other Abts. Also has a hint of licorice, unusual for Belgian dark beers. The dried fruit is very subtle. Actualy, the whole beer is much more subtle than I remembered it to be, and it is certainly a fantastic beer. What I don’t like: it has too much carbonation, which just ruins the palate for me, which I remembered to be much fuller and oilier. Maybe I had a better bottle last time. Anyway, certainly something special, but you don’t miss much if you go for the (almost) equally fantastic Chimay Bleu or Choufe N’Ice, which are much, much easier to get.

Every time you taste a beer, there’s something you don’t like. I keep tasting this one till I find something, but untill now I couldn’t find any weak spot.

Very original. Best trappist, and in my opinion best ale out there. A very surprising first encounter. Small head and very little carbonation. The taste is so large, fruity and warm and far from ordinary. Tried twice, and will try again even though it is expensive.