Westvleteren 12

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

No way.....are you kidding me? I think this beer is OK, but much too sweet, raisins and plums and small sherry notes.....Gimme a bernardus 60th anyday! I’ve had a lot beter beers tha this...

Several 0.33l bottles from the monastery, drank over a long period. Pours deep mahogany with a dissapearing foamy head. Smells of wood, malt, yeast sugars, and alcohol, very thick and viscous in the mouth. Taste is caramel, dark wood, yeast, malt, sour, cola with a strong alcohol finish. Small carbonation. Very enjoyable,complex and rewarding beer. After each bottle my estimation of this beer goes up, I think it’s as close to beer perfection as you can get.

Deep ebony body, light tan head, invigorating amount of carbonation. Inviting first impression: the beer’s 10.2% is a quite pleasant afterthought in conjunction with a rich, earthy palate. Brown bread, vanilla and ripe plums came to mind almost immediately, fading to a brief hint of spicy-floral with soft chocolate overtones. Understated yet enjoyable hops used to great success. Impressive, long-lived aftertaste, at first reminiscent of the tannin complex in Darjeeling teas, and then receding evenly and cleanly. [Served at the "In de Vrede" cafe, Westvleteren, Belgium. A real treat, and a must-try.]

Deep mahogony in color this poured a thick fluffy beige head. The nose gave off complex scents of sweet dark fruit, raisins, dark malt, chocolate dipped toffee, yeast, mineral and dark caramel. In the mouth it was medium-bodied with nice concentration yet light-on-its-feet due to the abundance of carbonation. The mouthfeel is soft and round with good richness in the midpalate which adds some dry/bitterness on the finish. Balance is the key work here and it has that in spades!

The legendary Westvleteren 12, sipped in a pub in Groningen (De Pintelier) for quite an amount of money, let’s see if it’s worthy... Very strong malty smell, light sweet, dark bread with a little bit of alcohol. Very small white fizzy head, which disappears fast and fully, the body is black. The taste is light bitter and very malty, very long duration. Flat carbonation, medium body, dry and very creamy texture, really nice! A very nice beer, maybe not the best in the world but really a very good one!

Thanks for the bottle Tim! Pours a very hazy dark brown with fluffy off-white head. Aroma is of dark fruit, sweet malt, and candy. Very complex taste features plenty of spice with a hint of vanilla and dark fruits. Excellent carbonation, bursting with tiny bubbles that massage the tongue. Very smooth finish with a slight bite of alcohol in the aftertaste. Alcohol is hidden very well. Enjoyed this one!

Where to start.....I’m kinda disappointed that i threw Tim Taylor Landlord the big 5 out of 5 because this beer needs to be rated higher, be that as it may pours with a volumous...nah screw it I’m not going to wank on about flavours, dark fruits etc wah wah this is a great beer it’s got good depth it’s balanced it’s amazing thanks Greig for this experience

Rating #300

Bottle courtesy of OldStyleCubFan, thanks Todd!

Appearance:
Pours a dark brown with an active and attractive looking tan head.

Smell:
Aroma of molasses, dark malt, caramel and yeast.

Flavor:
Flavor is brown sugars, malt, spices, rasins, yeasts, bread, vanilla and much more coming together very nicely.

Palate:
Despite all the flavors going on this brew is very balanced and everything comes together and gives this an excellent mouthfeel.

Overall:
I don’t think this is the best beer i’ve ever tried, and the mystique adds a couple points to most peoples ratings, but it’s definitely world class and in my top 20.