Westvleteren 12

Rating #100. Sincere thanks to ajm for leaving this in my fridge. It would have been better shared, but there’s no way I could keep staring at this one. Poured a robust/murky brown from the bottle with a thick tan head of foam. Notes of lemon zest, almost like a pilsner, in the nose as well as some hazlenut. Very unsuspecting until the molasess, caramel, apple, hazenut, and smoke slam your palette. Aggressive, yet sweet, with mild carbonation. Distinctly German. Plenty of sediment. Certainly a treat, but not quite the Holy Grail of Beers.

Thanks cmubeerman, side-by-side with Westy 8. 2+ years old. Creamy head with a mahogany-chestnut body. Almost minty aroma, cherries, dark fruit, anise, cloves, coriander, cardamom. Much more complex, fruity, and boozy than the 8. Flavor is malty, smooth, and complex. Round, bitter, and boozy finish.

Bottle from ebay. Dark brown with a garnet tint and no head. Raisin, fig, and brown sugar and grain aroma. Initial taste has some wine like character with raisin and dark fruit flavors, mild spice, brown sugar, and subtle vanilla followed by a sweet oat and cereal grain taste with some perceptible alcohol in the finish. Quite complex, subtle and delicately balanced flavors. It’s quite good, but it’s not an over the top aggressive beer, which is what I prefer. Nevertheless, it probably deserves it place at the top.

Rating 500. First of all, a major thank you to daknole who threw this in as a bonus brew in a recent trade. You really didn’t have to, but thank you. Bottle (cap reading 12.02.11) poured into trappist glass- poured a murky darken caramel color, tan whisps on top of the liquid surface for a head, initial low-medium carbonation of tiny bubbles. Aroma of figs, plums, moist raisins, and yeast- highly appealing. Hits the mouth with well defined medium body, some sweetness like light caramel and brown sugar comes in but is very subdued, malt is detectable but could be slightly more pronounced, very mild spices in the middle, cream on the back end of the tasting, finish lasts and has very little alcohol character to it. Very well balanced and extremely drinkable. A real treat!

Bottle courtesy of fonefan pours black with thin tan head. Aroma is dark fruits. First taste is sweet dark fruits then the alcohol burn comes in. The carbonation is nice and the finish is dry with a little alcohol burn. The alcohol is hidden very well in this 10% beer. Not as good as the Westy 8 but still top of my list.

WAY TO EXPENSIVE IT COST ME 18$ TO GET ONE. IT WAS VERY GOOD BUT NOT WORTH THE WAIT OR MONEY.

A special thanks to Bman1113vr for letting me drink this beer with him. Also an indirect thanks to jjpm74 for shipping it to bman! Where to start?! The beer pours with a small light brown head that is mostly diminishing. Since i got the bottom portion of the bottle, the body particles were a small to medium size. The body hue was a medium colored brown. The aroma smelled a little like caramel mixed with some barnyard and some meat. But the most dominating smell from the beer were the dark fruits: the raisins and a sour tasting plum. The beer also had a very strong alcohol taste. The initial flavor was moderately sweet and the finish was lightly bitter with lots of alcohol - pretty clean tasting towards the end. The beginning of the beer is light to the palate and ends medium to full with a syrupy texture. The carbonation is lively. What a great beer!!!!!!!

My 700th rating!! A million thank you;s to jjpm74 for sharing some Westvleteren magic. Bottle marked 28.03.10. Pours with a off-white head that goes and leaves some waves covering a murky brown body with particles. Alcohol legs on the side of the glass. Amazing aroma of figs, dark fruits, raisins, chocolate, alcohol, brandy and a slightly tart plum. Taste is sweet, lighter than expected with complex, rich and spiceyness. There is a complex savory alcohol note on the finish that is beautiful along with a long, clean and pleasant after taste. Brandy, spicey, sweet, yeasty and fruit. There is so much in this beer. It is subtely amazing! Syrupy mouthfeel with really light bubbles. This beer quitely lives up to all expectations.