Westvleteren 12

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

Serve in Trappist glass

UPDATED: FEB 4, 2012 bottle@Kulminator: very rich & complex taste, creamy, raisins, figs & prunes, earthly malt, brown sugar, some milk chocolate, spices, warming alcohol, very good indeed, the crazy is still a bit too much, I still think that whether you prefer Rochefort 10 or this is more a matter of personal taste than anything else ///// decided to try this again at Bruges Beer Festival 2012 - 33 cl. bottle sample – boozy dark fruits, sweet with touch caramel, plenty of sweet malts, hint spices, slight liquorish quality to it, touch chocolate, slightly messy & not exactly fully tuned, plenty of elements in common with the 8 as well as the 6 I have tried, 6 was a slightly different from standard version apparently, this is a good beer but there is a lot out there that equals this as well as surpasses it with some similar tributes, fine-tuned versions & imitations in Belgium being vastly superior to this that get a lesser amount of raves but the hype will never end and seems to be getting only worse ….

Bottle from trade. Finally got to taste THE world’s best beer. This is simply a pure treat meant to savor. It pours a ruby-ish brown with a light bubbly head. Surprisingly, very carbonated. The aroma is earthy, malty, sweet. The taste, while delicious, is very complex. It takes a second or two, to wrap your head around all (or some) of the flavors. I taste the sweeter caramel, plum, chocolate, wood, candi-sugar. Great interesting Trappist beer.

UPDATED: APR 29, 2011 2009 bottle from Cracked Kettle. It pours mahogany to deep ruby in colour with a thin foamy beige head. The nose is wood, ginger, raisin, fig, date, orange-zest, leather and dark chocolate. The taste unbelievably complex: wood, caramel, toffee, plum, cherry, date, prune, fig, stewed pear, red grape, banana, vanilla, leather, smoke, charcoal, milk and dark chocolate, rich-roast coffee, liquorice, nice alcohol warmth....the list could go on. The underlying sweetness balances the more savoury flavours. It has fine carbonation, a full body, layers of complexity, surprising smoothness and one of the longest finishes around. Awesome.

As a gift from my boss during a working lunch. Awesome. I wish I had more time to truly savor this one, but alas, it was damn good while it lasted. Semi murky chestnut brown pour with wonderful creamy khaki head. The aroma is great, especially as it warms - bready, cakey, rum raisin, plum, fig, and smooth alcohol warmth. The flavor takes a very dark and earthy character, with more dark fruits and surpisingly, not very much sweetness. Creamy medium body is very nice on the palate. Very mellow and complex.

Poured into a Kasteel goblet. Thanks to onedropsoup for this. I think this might be from 2009 due to the dateless cap. The first (and only other) time I tried this beer I was at a tasting and had several brews before getting to this one. Boy was that a mistake. I couldn’t smell or taste much of anything. Anyway, this time I get to fully enjoy it. 4.0 A: Pours a ruddy dark brown color. Initially, it poured fairly clear, but toward the end of the bottle, clumpy sediment started accompanying the liquid. Two fingers of mainly frothy beige head with slightly better than average retention and a formitable ring of lacing. 4.5 S: This is quite a complex brew! Surprisingly nutty, this is by far the nuttiest quad I’ve ever stumbled upon. Dry as well (I suppose that’s expected from the candi sugar). Earthy and musty, and toasty like there is lots of brown malt. Only moderately spicy and nothing really stands out in this regard (maybe white pepper). Fig, tobacco, and pear brandy fruitiness. Ovaltine-like chocolate and just a touch of booze. This is very nice, but I’d prefer if it had some more power. 4.5 T: Not as complex as the nose, but much stronger flavors. Foremost there is brown sugar, caramel, tobacco, and molasses. Booze soaked figs, raisins, and prunes. Raw cacoa powder, nutty, and toasty. Peppery and to a lesser extent, clove, spiciness. Again, earthy and musty. Pretty damn good here too. 4.5 M: Light to lighter medium body. Carbonation is in perfect amounts with a good spritzy quality to it. Good amount of creaminess and super smooth with a touch of warmth on the finish. 4.5 D: I suppose this does live up to the hype. It’s an excellent brew, but I’m not so sure that it’s that much better that easier to get examples. Still, quite a brew! Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 03-05-2011 00:27:48

33cl bottle from 2008. Was a bit of foamer, nice white bubbly head, reduces to a light lacing. Perfect aroma of belgian yeast, bread, dried fruits, no alcohol. Creamy, smooth, mellow and highly carbonated on the palate, sweet from the fruits, fresh at first and the complexity just keeps on building throughout the finish. Need to do a side by side with Rochefort 10 but pretty sure its my favourite trappist. Ages beautifully - becomes more mellow, the alcohol is muted, and the fruit and yeast shines.

UPDATED: OCT 30, 2011 11.2 oz. bottle, sent generously from Glouglouburp (thanks so much for the opportunity to try this, Dany), pours dark amber with a beige head. Intense aroma of raisins, plum, dark currants, some molasses, burnt caramel and yeast. Absolutely exquisite. Complex barely begins to describe this - raisins, dark currant, caramel, with an alcohol burn towards the end, more raisins, without too much sweetness, very warming. Not the #1 beer I’ve had, but pretty stunningly fantastic.

We were in Belgium & made a special drive to this monestary. It was honestly the best beer I’ve ever had.