Westvleteren 12

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

Serve in Trappist glass

head: white, creamy
colour: dark red/brown
smell: candy, malts, hints of caramel and a tad of very soft chocolate, fudge, and hint of alcohol
taste: start is malts , then comes in the alcohol, caramel en candy sirup taste, followed by a oily sweet finish ,

i know there’s a hipe around this beer but westvleteren beers just don’t seem to amaze me , they’re good beers but to make this best beer of belgium or even in the world ??!! common , don’t u guys be stupid and rate it for what it is and not for how expensive it is or how much u paid for it ... there are allot and realy ALLOT better beers than westvleteren ... i’m sorry ...

UPDATED: NOV 18, 2010 Transcription of an old BA review from 03-24-2010, with scores adjusted to RB scale. Will re-rate...someday. The review comprises notes from separate tastings of two different vintages. Scores are for vintage 2008. Vintage ’08: The review is based on notes taken in fall/winter 2009. Yellow capped ascetic bottle with best before date 03.12.2011. Considering that Westveleteren 12 beers are bottled 3 years prior to expiration date the beer is vintage 2008. The pour into St. Bernardus goblet gives muddy rusty - mahogany brown nectar with light tan bubbly head fading into an island of agglomerated bubbles. Aromas of sour cherries, berries, figs & raisins, touch of cocoa, breeze of red wine. The flavor profile is nutty-cocoaish with over-ripened figs, rummy with sweet malt base balanced by mild hoppy bitterness prolonged into lingering subtle bitter aftertaste. Silky smooth and creamy with alcohol unbelievably well hidden the roughly one year old beer is fruitier, with more expressed vinousness and less hoppy character than fresh one. 10 4 10 5 19 = 4.8 Vintage ’89 I was told the bottle is ’89 vintage therefore 21 yrs old although this cannot be verified as Westvleteren bottles didn’t always have BBE date on their crowns. However, the 11% ABV imprinted on the cap indicates this was a pre-1999 bottling. Between 1999 and 2002 the alcohol content of Westvleteren 12 has been gradually reduced from 11% to the current level of 10,2%. Diminishing of ABV was necessary to facilitate the brewing process as high levels of alcohol are more likely to kill the yeast. To the beer. Into Westvleteren chalice. Clear coppery-mahogany brown body lacking any head apart from short lived bubbly island floating on the surface. In over two decades of aging the beer has undergone a complete transformation from quad to fortified wine or even liqueur: at this stage is highly viscous, alcoholic, sweet and abounds in fruity esters. Palpable aromas of strongly fortified, port-like wine, intense sugary sweetness, plums, dried fruits represented by prunes, sour cherries , figs and rum soaked raisins. Clear presence of alcohol which is well incorporated into the whole. Each aroma listed reincarnates itself in the flavor department that perfectly matches the nose.The mouthfeel of warming and liqueurish brew is syrupy but not in a sickly manner, with zero carbonation. I’m pouring the beer carefully to keep the black slush at the bottom. Even so the last pour is hazy due to the raised yeasty sediment which adds some spiciness and in contrary with beliefs does not ruin the beer. Fully mature Westvleteren 12 is great, although does not have much in common with what I see as a beer. 10 2 10 5 18 = 4,5

11.2 oz. bottle 500th ranking- $42.99 a bottle- This was part of a Trappist vertical, in order I drank Chimay blue first followed by Rochefort Trappistes 8 and 10 then followed by St. Bernardus abt. 12 and now this. To explain further The Chimay was the biggest disappointment, it was obviously good, but the worst of the first four, the Rochefort beers were just as good as the first time I tried them, but was expecting that the St. Bernardus would be better, it wasn’t, both Rochefort’s are a prime example of what a Trappist beer should taste like, so the big question, is the Westvleteren the king kong of the Trappist world.- Westvleteren 12- Pours a ruby murky red with a nice bone white head that recedes to a collar, lacework is good, aroma is stifled cherries and Belgian yeast . The flavor is less tart than the St. Bernardus and smoother than the Chimay, and less alcoholic than the Rochefort 10 and Chimay. The taste is mellow, creamy, flavorful, alcohol well hidden, it is hard to find anything wrong with this beer. Is this the best beer I’ve ever had, probably not, but it comes close, very close, I would say it is in my top five, maybe even top three. In closing, Every beer in my vertical tonight had a flaw in it except this one, I do believe that it lives up to the hype. But it is not worth $42.99 a bottle.

Ölen är ganska stärk i doften, alkoholprocenten är välrepresenterad, men inte på ett negativt sätt. Det doftar fantastisk gott av kola, jäst och lite söta mörka frukter. Smaken är stor av söta plommon, lite russin och choklad. Tycker även jag hittar toner av vanilj. Eftersmaken är mycket rund och välbalanserad, och ligger i länge, länge. Ja, god är den verkligen, men är den värdens bästa? Nja, inte i min värden. Faktisk så är det så att jag tyckte den nästa ölen vi provade var bättre… faktisk mycket bättre, så Westvleteren 12 får bara en fyra av mig, men en god fyra

Many, MANY thanks to Ben for sharing one of these with me. If you like beer you will like this, it’s awesome. SOOOOOOOO many flavors and high abv, yet so dirnkable. Fruit, malt, a little hop, chocolate, alcohol, it’s all in there. And it really tastes great. If you ever liked a beer, you will like this. I think the yeast must be a lot of what makes it unique. It’s got the most bizarre carbonation, and it’s fantastic. Every time you take a sip it bubbles up and almost tickles you, then as soon as that’s over you set the glass down and it looks like champagne. Weird and awesome. Get one if you can, I was lucky I didn’t have to go all the way to the monastery!

To finish a great day and evening of few nice beers after sauna, why not crack one of these, too. Pours murky mahogany brown into my Trappist glass with some sediment. Nice brown small bubbly head. Aroma is very nice with alcohol, malts, fidges, raisins, dades and sweet caramel but not as full bodied as I had expected. Flavor then. Wow, aroma was a bit "low" but the taste! Full bodied fruity and sweet, not too much though but just enough and a little bit more. Very lean mouth feel, you feel the alcohol but as a complementary part of the flavor and round enjoyable maltyness. Fantastic good! Palate feel is perfect blend of acidyness and sweetness, truly full bodied and creamy. Finish is amazingl; first alcohol and sweet fruityness turning into great bitter bite which lasts so long.

For my 500th ranking, I chose the one and only Westvleteren 12. This is also beer #2 in my Trappist tasting tonight. Will it live up to the hype? That’s why I’m drinking Rochefort 10 right beside it and will be drinking three more Trappist beers afterward. Then I’ll be able to decide if it truly is the greatest beer in the world. 33 cl botle poured into Trappist glass. Pours a murky brownish orange with a nice bone-white head that retains itself for a long time; when it collapses, it leaves a fine blanket of foam and some nice lace. Not nearly as much sediment as the Rochefort. Better looking than the other beer. Aroma is spicy, bananas, ripe plums, earth, cooked black beans, some funk. Equal in the aroma department to the Rochefort, but they are very different. Taste is sweet with no bitterness (towards the end of the bottle a little bitterness shows up in the finish); almost Eisbock sweet. Some apple pie in the flavor. Crisper than the Rochefort; meaty. Body is full; carbonation is soft; mouthfeel is creamy. Overall, better than the Rochefort. Although a fine beer, I’ve had way better. I think it is hyped up a bit.

Aroma:Malt and grapes. Nice sweet aroma. Appearance:Brown in color, nice head that’s ecru in color. Taste:Caramel and Malt, wine notes. The aftertaste leaves some leather, earthy notes. Palate:Medium to thick in body. Hot alcohol, a little astringency, great carbonation. Overall:It’s a really easily drinkable, flavorful, complex, and smooth beer.