Westvleteren 12

Thanks to Fraker for sharing this rare treat with me. Bottle - Pours a fantastic dark ruby-brownish with nice tan head. Aroma is definite dark fruits, vinous qualities, spices, yeast, and earth. Flavor is much the same, very nice with dark fruits, Belgian candi sugar, slight hops, and breadiness - This beer is easily a little over-rated - but it’s not the flavor that makes it so fantastic. It’s the balance in the flavor, this is easily the most complex and balanced beer I’ve ever had -That’s what makes it so good to me. Also it’s incredibly smooth, perfect carbonation, still flavorful, and 10.2% alcohol - that alone makes it incredible. Hugely Recommended.

BOTTLE: room temp, goblet. Drank on the night my 3rd child was born, this fabulous beauty of a beer is about the highest I’ve rated although I’m not sure it’s the best beer in the world (how can that judgment really be made until all other beers have been tried!?). But I digress.. appearance is perfect with nice beige, bubbly head and dark body. Aroma is fruity, like a wine. Flavor is complex, strong, fruity, alcoholic presence is definite but not overpowering and in the definite quadrupel style. Palate is lively yet smooth, clean and crisp with a medium-long finish. Overall it is a wonderfully complex brew full of taste, palate and style. Never turn one down if you get the chance to try it, even for $20 a bottle.

A dark brown color which pours a nice foamy head. Aroma is full of spicey scents. Tastes sweet with a hint of fruit and still some spice, but finishes so smooth -- it is a joy to drink. Truly one of the finest, if not the finest, beer in the world.

As perfect as a beer gets. Caramel, alcohol, malt, hint of hops all smoothly blended together. Have had it a few times and it never disappoints. A beautiful beer that I have never seen adequately duplicated.

A-Pours a deep, cloudy violet color with little to no head, perhaps because the pour wasn’t very aggresive. S- Smell is amazing. Deep dark fruits, raisins, hints of plum, with a deep yeasty earthiness that is hard to describe. boozy. T- Taste is extremely balanced and minimal yet overflowing with complexity. Starts off just as in the nose with deep dark fruits, moves into a bit of an acidic bite which mingles with a hop bitterness joined with a spicy flavor. There is a deep breadiness all the way through and booziness at the end which tops it off perfectly. M- Thick, low on carbonation and fairly dry. Lingers on the palate for a while. D- I wanted to dislike this beer, I really really did. I told myself I would rate it like any other and try to play down the hype but it just didn’t work. The only way I can describe how good this one goes down is the spicy, warming sharpness of the finish of a good big red wine. Because of the price I won’t actively seek this one out again but if i’m ever in europe and I see one you can bet that’s what i’ll be drinking. I usually dislike quads but this one seemed so laid back, it was a delight.

This beer was simply amazing. It’s only appropriate, I suppose, for it to be my first "official" rating on here. A friend and myself enjoyed it thoroughly and have both agreed that it is a simply amazing beer overall. In my opinion, it wasn’t too much or too little, but rather just right. I’m not sure I can accurately describe it. But I loved it. I’m glad I was able to enjoy what I could, but only wish there could have been more!

Many thanks to my friend Troy who brought back two bottles of this from a recent trip to Belgium and was gracious enough to share. Poured a rich, dark brown color into a chalice. However, when the light hit it just right, it had a deep ruby/garnet glow. Wasn’t a huge head, but stayed around for a while. Also, we were sharing this among several people, so pouring this bottle into multiple glasses may have affected the head size as well. Aromas were good, but nothing really stood out. Rather fruity, like plums and brown sugar, with some sweetness as well. The taste was excellent. Lots of dark fruits, honey, some spice, and also a bit of alcohol bitterness. Mouthfeel was exceptiona, like drinking velvet. Just a tingle of carbonation to keep the palate fresh. Overall, this was a great beer. Did it live up to the hype--could it live up to the hype? Hard to say. I would love to have another full glass rather than the portion I had in order to really savor and explore this beer. But I can’t say that I was dissappoin

Bottle: Pours a deep brown with a large, thick, lasting, and creamy beige head. Easy 5. Here we go best beer in the world! Aroma is mild, but satisfying. Fruity, malty, toffee, and hints of alcohol warm the nose. Before I notice the flavor, I am taken back with the extreme creaminess and richness of the palate. A ’pure’ 5 here. Flavor is blended and balanced so well that nothing takes over. An excellent blend of malts, toffee, chocolate, dark fruits, raison, and spices. Immaculate taste. Easily a top of the world brew. Thanks to jjpm74 for hookin me up with this prize!!! <P> Re-rate on 3/14/09: Less intensity in the aroma tonight. Still fruity, toffee, and sweet candied sugar, but not as rich as I had remembered. Flavor profile is not as deep as the first time I had this. More fruity and candied sugar notes, but lacking the dark fruits, chocolate, and leathery feel of before. I’m basically re-rating because I feel that my original rating had to much awe factor involved...