Westvleteren 12

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

Serve in Trappist glass

UPDATED: JAN 6, 2012 Tasted from a 11.2 oz bottle. Pours a pretty dark brown, cloudy body with a cream/brown head. Head is dark candy sugar, yeast, caramel, toffee, dark fruity, plum, light barnyard aroma. Very rich candy sugar, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, plum, fig, Belgian yeasty, dark chocolate, rich malty flavor. Very nice, easy drinking, rich and sweet malty beer. I really enjoy this beer, but for my money, I got to go with Rochefort 10.

33 cl bottle, pours dark brown with a huge head, fair bit of lacings and solid head retention, tons of carbonation, aroma of dark fruits, yeast, brown sugar, malt and slight diacetyl, taste has the same notes as the aroma, medium to full body, solid lingering finish, wonderful beer but Rochefort 10 and St. Bernardus 12 are just as good imo.

Bottle at pub italia- As expected, this is one hell of a beer. Pour is a dark brown with a quickly disappating off white head. The aroma was extremely complex, with dark fruit present. Apples also, figs and molasses. The taste was equally complex. Not overly boozy, considering. Great beer, definitely worth a try, but I think I’d rather have 3 rochefort 10s for the price.

Pours a deep mahogany with almost no head, aroma of christmas cake and sweet port wine, plus maybe a hint of dried fig, rich vinous and fruity flavour, with roast plums, dark sugar, a hint of dark Seville marmalade, blackberries and a little date and fig. More gassy than I expected given the lack of head, but not overly so. Dry yet sweet finish. Gorgeous.

A beautifully tasting nectar. Such a diverse palate is unknown in beerworld. Taste stays in your mouth several minutes after each sip. So good.

Refrigerated bottle poured into Westvleteren Trappist Glass. Pours a opaque dark brown where the upper portion is medium brown. Medium beige head, lots of lacing, good carbonation. Aroma is dark fruit and molasses, thick body, and slightly warming. Taste is complex earthy rich malt (fig and molasses), some hops, some spice, and finishes a little dry

BB date on cap 03-13. The pour is fantastic with a huge, beige, super creamy which is mostly lasting and leaves Belgian lace all over; the body is a murky, rusty, deep crimson. Very nice nose with pound cake, lots of plum, light molasses, blackberry, light tea leaf notes, nutmeg and mace, dark chocolate, fig, and sweet caramel; similar to the Rochefort 10. Interesting flavor with so much malt richness and some fruitiness to match but a distinct bitterness far in the background; very fig- and plum-like, chocolate brownie, blackberry, spicy nutmeg and mace, still the molasses, tea leaves and faint twig bring just enough deceptive bitterness, and just a faint Colombian coffee hint in there. The palate is nearly full, lightly chewy, round and velvety, drying, and soft to lively. The finish is still mostly sweet with chocolate, some plum left, spicy nutmeg still, and the tea leaf bitterness lingering. It really was worth the wait, received this complimentary from Beer Planet in Belgium for ordering 25 beers online. Started very similar to the Roch 10 but the subtle bitter notes were amazing addition to a very rich and fruity style. The dryness seemed to thin the palate just a hair and the complexity was amazing but not unparalleled. Other than aging this one for a few years, I don’t know how much better a Belgian beer can get. I might be lucky enough to try this another time in my life, but if not, I will at least have the memory of an epic beer.

This is another one of my weekly westvleteren :) I’m so lucky to live this close to the brewery :D cheers, mates!