Westvleteren 12

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

Truly awesome. I picked up some at the abbey about 3 years ago and still break out a bottle for special occasions.

Pours a dark chestnut brown with a huge tan head. The aroma is of fresh buttered bread, overripe fruits, and spices. The flavor is as complex as they come with roasted malt, brown sugar, overripe sweet fruit, spices and alchohol. Its truly amazing how cohesive this beer is considering its size and flavor profile. Its truly a masterpiece. So smooth and refined. It actually is pretty close to the 8, with a more intense flavor and a more noticeable alcohol content. I think this is why many people prefer the 8, but I don’t mind the alcohol. To be honest, I probably would have rated this a tad lower, but I already rated Rochefort 10 at 4.8, and I liked this better. Best beer I’ve ever had and truly worth the #1 spot.

At a tasting, thanks DSG. Small off white head with big bubbles that for a long time, clear intense dark amber colour, malty caramel aroma together with some light notes of dry fruits, flavour of caramel, demerera sugar and dark fruits, sweetness is mild and there is a touch of alcohol, big bodied but well balanced.

Poured a nice head. Very classically styled quad in my opinion, not overdone like many american versions. Body was full, but still light enough to keep it drinkable. Right where it should be. Carbonation was medium high, also right where it should be. Taste has lots of cherry and other dark fruits, chocolate, and that nice slightly burnt raisin belgian malt character without any of that crappy brown sugar flavor. Plums? Finishes with dry chocolate. The chocolate is very nice-it’s chocolaty, but still shows its malt roots.

A big special thanks to BeerandBlues2 for sharing this rare and wonderful brew with me. Pours a deep dark golden brown with moderate carbonation that produced a small tight tan head. Aroma is a fruity yeast scent with hints of caramel. It starts with a hefty medium body that goes down with a fizzy smooth feel. Finish is magnificent with lots of dried fruits (raisin and prune standing out), then a bit of a wine like feel and some fruity yeast on the end. After taste has a hint of alcohol letting the wine texture come out a little more. This is an amazing and complex brew, I understand why it is one of the top rated beer on ratebeer.

THanks DSG for sharing this one, dark amber with nice off-white head, acidic aroma balanced by dry fruit, some nuts and some yeasty cheese, complex flavors of dry fruits and cherries, brandy alcohol spiced by clove, texture is quite silky, overall it is a very nicely balanced beer to sip but not my favorite.

Brown with some redness pour with tan head. Dark fruit aroma and sweetness in the aroma. Tasted sweet on the lips, sherry flavor, some dryness, dark fuits(figs, raisons). Great mouthfeel. This too gets so much better as it warms up. Alcohol taste comes out a little at the end.