Westvleteren 12

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

So I have nominally the best beer in the world in front of me. Always though I would be then nervous or fascinated, but at the moment I took it as a normal beer, like every other, sincerely, without any biases. Even didn’t expect too much from it, maybe of bad biometeorological situation :) Allright, let’s head to the beer!
I got a 0.33 l bottle from belgianshop.com. It Poured just a bit hazy dark brown body with medium bigger brownish head. Strong, impressive aroma, yeasty with dark fruits (berries, plums, ) caramel. Some orange peel as well, with caramel and chocolate. Wow, can’t stand to try it now! At the first sip it seemed a bit light, bittersour caramel and some alcohol, but nice. After two or three its complexity started to show up, probably as the palate gets used to. Yeasty fruits with malty caramel produce some nice flavors, ranged from chocolate filled with blueberries to irish coffee, as alcohol is also felt a bit. Very nice, but not near perfect, somehow leaves a feeling alcohol is hidden in a bit wrong, unbalanced and I would deer to say cheapish way. Finish is very pleasant, very sweet, caramel and plum dominated. I am constantly bothered by that strange bitterness from the flavor, but otherwise would be perfect beer. Although surely one of the best beers I’ve ever had in my life, it’s not the best and I can say I’ve actually expected more.

Tasted this beer first hand at ’De Vrede’ right next to the abbey. Can’t get any better! Rich flavor, aroma, color all that you need in a beer. I do feel a sad that it needed to take the commercialism of the western world to get to know this beer. I would suggest to every beer ’snob’ to save your money for a plane ticket rather than spending it on postage!

Bottle, HUGE thanks to Dough77 for sending this guy my way. I’ve been saving this for my college graduation, and I’m glad I let it sit for a few months before cracking it. The aroma is so interesting - doughy, yeasty, picking up some raisin notes too. To be honest, it smelled like bread, or pizza dough (in a good way). Absolutely delicious flavor. Lots of fruit: raisin, lightly roasted coffee, some caramel, honey, and vinuous notes too. Beautiful lingering malty finish, perfect body. The alcohol is there, but just serves to warm the throat on the way down. I was a little nervous before opening this one because I was afraid that it wouldn’t live up to the hype. Fortunately, it definitely did. It’s a unique and incredibly complex beer -- I’m glad to have finally tried it.

Wow... Some people think there really is no such thing as the "perfect beer". I disagree. While it is basically non-existent, this beer does achieve that status. The holy grail of beers! Thanks to my good friend for getting me a couple of these on his trip to Belgium! Pours a cloudy dark amber/brown with a medium tan head that dissipates very quickly. This thing is like drinking pure nectar! Figs, licorice, chocolate, raisins, and maybe a slight bit of coffee and that’s just the beginning. There are so much more complex flavors to this thing! It is ever so slightly sweet and it lingers forever... I now understand why they call this the holy grail of beers! The abv in this beer is very well hidden. You could drink a few of these things without realizing how much you’ve had! What else can I say, Everyone needs to get one at least once in their life! Only wish I had more... Maybe when I win the lottery I’ll head over and grab a case for myself! Cheers!

YES FINALLY AFTER ALL THIS TIME! PERFECTLY YUMMYYYYY!!!!! Bottle from the Cracked Kettle in Amsterdam for 9 Euros!!! AMAZING!1!1!!!1

Almost a perfect beer. The color is nicely dark with a not too thick foam. The nose is full of dark fruit, raisins, chocolate, hop, coffee. The taste builds on it with creaminess and a good bitterness. Very long aftertaste and nice palate. A bit of bottle age (since this is the latest bottling I took at the Abbey) will only improve on its perfection.

This is absolutely one of the best beers in the world. An almost hazy black colored beer, with a beautiful beige foamed head. It disappears slowly and leaves a nice lace on the glass. The aroma is incredibly complex. It has dark fruits, like prum, berries, raisins. very dark chocolate malt and notes of coffee. The taste is complex as well. it’s gentle, several dark fruits, some spices and the taste of pure chocolate. The after taste has a very nice bitter, which stays for a while. It gives a very warm feeling in your mouth. As I already sad one of the best. But I leave 0.1 point free, for the perfect beer, if that is possible.

bottle courtesy of carlus12. Aroma of dried fruit, cream and malt. Pours an opaque brown beer with a beige head. Taste is malty with a fruit notes and hops. Very weekl balanced and a lovely palate with many flourishes. A great beer.