Westvleteren 12

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

Drinking at my home, in a Trappist Westvleteren goblet. Both the beer and goblet were purchased a De Bierkonig in Amsterdam. Nice smell. A little bit of natural vanilla and some figs. It’s a very sweet smell. It gives you a good clue as to the sweet taste that is to come. Not too hard hitting like some of the other stronger Belgians out there. I’m suprised this is as drinkable as it is. I could drink a few of these. The carbonation is nice and bubbly, but fades rather quickly. The immediate taste is of sugary figs. It leaves almost a licorice aftertaste behind, that sticks around for a couple minutes after each sip. It is a very complex, and very sweet, flavor without being too hard on the palate. I’d have to say this beer was worth the money, and worth the wait. It certainly lives up to the hype.

An eminent beer, but it’s not as good as its reputation. I bought three of these at my local dormitory beersale (it’s an excellent beersale for a dormitory), and tasted them with two friends. I’ll still say my favourite beer is Mikkeller Jackie Brown, and my friends are both still bigger fans of Ølfabrikkens Sortøl. Yes, the aroma is very good, spicy and fruity, but I’ve smelled better beers. The appearance is beautifully dark brown-coloured, but I had expected a better head from this best-rated beer. The flavor is absolutely fine; the best Quadrupel I’ve tasted (though not so many), the hops is as obvious as it should be, and the alcohol is surprisingly well-balanced. The palate is close to perfect, but that’s exactly it! I’d expected the entire beer to be close to perfect. Not boring at all, it’s an eminent beer. But I had just expected more!!!

Vintage 2002. It pours a dark brown beer with a small beige head. Good head retention. The nose is of walnuts, alcohol, grapes, wood, candy and seaweed accompanied by a huge amount of malt. Very strong. Faintly smoky with a light acidity. Complex taste. Slightly salty. Beautiful lacework. Woody. Full bodied. A lot of warming alcohol. Sweet syrupy. Molasses and rum. Hints of aniseed, raspberries, walnuts, seaweed, fennel and licorice accompanied by a huge amount of malt. Smooth mouthfeel. Perfectly balanced. Grapes and honey sneaking in. Medicinal. Alcohol showing up with the swallow. Smoky. Low bitterness and hop profile. More honey appearing after a few sips. Not much carbonation. The finish is oaky with alcohol, hints of aniseed, quite a lot of blueberries and licorice. Some residual sweetness lingering for quite a while with some reminiscent aniseed, heather and dates. Extremely complex, exclusive and unique. A great beer, but definately far from being the best beer I have sampled, it clearly does not transcend all the others. I personally definately prefer other trappist beers. Thanks a lot Bov for giving me this Westvleteren.

Bottle very generously opened by dewbrewer at a recent tasting. Thanks Dan & Joelle!
This relatively fresh bottle from this year pours a lovely rich muddy, thick, dark brown color with a nice beige head. Smell is wonderful and of raisins and dark brown sugariness. Taste is oatmeal cookies, raisin, with light hoppiness mixed in, and a slight yeasty sweetness. Very balanced still and not too malty at all. Very balanced and a fantastic beer. Didn’t expect to like a beer of this style as much as I did.

Cap dated 29-04-06: I had intended to not drink this until I found another, but that may be awhile. Besides, this is my 100th beer reviewed. Into the requisite tulip it goes, with some effort needed to coax a slight foam, I wouldn’t even call it head. When held to a light source, the body is a beautiful cherry amber, clear save for a small number of floaties. The nose is a luscious blend of dark, dried fruits, and some wood. The taste is completely blended, there are no layers of individual flavors. The initial flavor is kind of sweet up front, but quickly begins to dry out. The woody, or perhaps leathery, character appears, and then a faint bitterness, as if from hops. The mouthfeel is barely carbonated, but silky smooth, and heavy. I drank three of these the last night of Marvin’s rule over Chalkies. It is to him that I owe many thanks for this bottle. I think that in Europe, the second number of the date represents the year, rather than the third, as in America. And I seem to remember reading in one of the forums that Westvleteran 12 is bottled three years before the date on the cap. As good as this was, I would like to try a slightly fresher sample. And my two cents is that this is head and shoulders above all other Quads, Trappists definitely included. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-11-2005 01:57:33

Pours a dark red/brown color with a fizzy beige head. Aroma is intense with lots of raisans,caramel,burnt sugar and som vinious notes. Incredible smooth mouthfeel. Flavor is nice and subtle with lots of chocolate,dark fruits and a nice malty touch. Alcohol is nowhere to be found. A really nice zipper!

caramel, floral, brown, sparkling, brown foam, light sweetness, medium bitterness, medium sourness,

Shared this with a friend who received it in a trade. Pours a very dark brown with a white head. Lots of carbonation. Very complex and delish aroma of sugars, bready goodness, malts, and fruit. Flavor is fantastic. Starts of with yeast and malts, and then the fruit and hops balance it out. Finish is very bitter. Alcohol isn’t very apparent. Is it worth the hype? Well, it may not be the greatest beer ever made, but it was very enjoyable and I would gladly drink it again.