Westvleteren 12

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

Serve in Trappist glass

Five € bottle from the Struise yeast online store, bottled March 13, 2010, so very young. Pours into tulip glass a murky deep burgandy brown. Would have been more clean if the overactive head hadn’t required multiple start/stops to the pour, stiring up the very dark sediment. The remnant head is beyond lacing. Great blond clumps of foam cling to the glass sides with streaks of caramel. Aroma is mostly alcohol, some caramel, and hints of a barn’s hay loft. Taste is spicy and a little bit sweet. Surprisingly light and refreshing on the tongue. I could drink this by the bucket! Or pack bottles away in the cellar for a few years. Hurray for Struise for making this available at such a reasonable price on their amazing web store.

bottle ..Murky dark brown pour , thin beige head , mimimal lacing . Aroma has notes of chocolate ,caramel ,fruit and alcohol. Flavor starts sweet and bready and ends with a light bitterness and dryness . Notes of dark fruits , toffee , brown sugar and licorice . Well balanced , medium mouthfeel and carbonation . Slight alcohol burn in the finish . Excellent , thanks Candy .

First tasted 2009-06-06 at In de Vrede at St. Sixtus’ Abbey, but this rating is based on a bottle I picked up at Bier Tempel in Brussels. 330 mL bottle, expiry 2011-01-22, served in a branded Trappist glass. Pours clear red-brown with a moderate, frothy tan head and large clumps of sediment. Head has good retention and great lace. Aromas of honey, yeast, chocolate, tobacco, plum, raisin, pepper and spice. Flavour is honey sweet toasted malts throughout. Against this background, flavours of pepper and spice evolve and develop. The finish is long and lingering, spicy with a hint of nut. The 10.2% ABV is well-concealed, but it peeks through in the finish. As the glass warms, alcohol becomes more prominent and the aromas become more vinous. Medium in body, with an ultra-smooth, creamy texture that is ever so slightly sticky. Carbonation is average. So, does this beer match its hype? Westvleteren 12 is clearly incredibly well made. It is complex and subtle, and perfect for moments of deep introspection. For me, the real question is how it stacks up against its younger brother, Westvleteren 8. The 12 is sweeter, smoother and more alcoholic, but also lighter in body. Both are complex and malty, with the 8 more nutty and the 12 more vinous. Both are excellent brews, but I prefer the 8 by the slightest of margins. 2010-04-07

Tasted it two weeks ago. Couple of years old bottle. Tasted heavenly, very rich taste, my favorite, ex aequo next to the Chimay Grand Réserve...

Up till 2 years ago my rating would be close to perfect. But things seem to have changed. It’s still a very good beer, but the magic seems to have evaporated. Is it the hype; is it that the monks need money for rebuilding their monastery and tend to produce far more than before? Or do they want to get out of this fucking top 10, producing a still delicious beer, but taking out of it that one small miraculous ingredient that makes the difference between delicious and divine? Many people i saw falling for it, like all did for The Perfume of Grenouille: sheer adoration from sip one. Not so any more...; very disappointing were the crates i got in august 2009; i sold them to a Westvleteren-freak..couldn’t care less. The 3 crates i got recently are showing some improvement, but it’s still not the elxiir i was addicted to. It not as dark as before; the collar, it’s just too much foam. Still the Westvleteren, yes...but where’s that magic momentum when from sheerly enjoying a beer you suddenly find yourself in heaven?

As if God himself has overlooked the making of this beer. Only one word is here in order "Congratulations"

So much has already been written about this beer that I can hardly add anything new. Is it really that good? In my opinion it surely is. Picked it up myself in Westvleteren. It looks superb, nice dark brown. Creamy texture, complex smell and taste. More appropriate drink in autumn and winter than in the summertime. Quite contrary to it’s two little sisters (blond and 8) which did not really cut it for me, this one deserves the high score. Nevertheless I do not appreciate the hype.

It took my wife 450 calls to get through on the beer phone. Drove from Kaiserslautern, Germany to the Abdij St. Sixtus and picked up the max 2 cases for 96 Euros. Shared this w/ SkyCop32. Pours a deep dark reddish brown color. Aromas of dark fruit, caramel, and some spice. Flavors are dark cherries, plums, and some spice. Alcohol is really hidden in the deep flavors. I prefer the 8 myself.