Westvleteren 12

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

Aroma is very citrusy, with sweet notes of caramel and brown sugar. Flavor is very sweet, caramel and brown sugar on the front, immediately followed by belgian candy sugar. Also subtle notes of citrus and yeast. Very carbonated in the mouth, with a smooth character all the way through. Good alcohol warmth. A highly drinkable beer....easy to sip, easy to get carried away with.

Pours a dark brown with ruby highlights. Just a froth of head appears on the pour.
Smell is dark fruits, belgian candy sugar and some alcohol. Taste is pretty complex and quite nice. More of the dark fruits in the start, then there is a sense of spice with a roasted, smokey flavor to finish. Velvety smooth on the mouthfeel and easy drinking. Just enough alcohol to notice in each sip. Excellent brew, but #1 beer in the world?

Appearance: poured a dark brown with a nice fluffy, off-white head. It’s been sitting for 2 minutes and the head has shown no sign of getting smaller. it’s about 1inch from a nice slow pour. Aroma: Spicy/fruity yeast aroma. Full and handsome. Flavor: Oh, good lord. I didn’t think it could really live up to the hype. i was dead wrong. As you take a sip the fluffy head coats your tongue, then the beer pours over that coating and just envelopes your mouth. Absolutely amazing flavor.. Roasted hits about halway through a sip... it’s a smoky roast flavor in a way. Very hard to describe. Bitter dark chocolate, residual sweetness, sweet dark cherries... not sensing any tart. Holy shit this beer is amazing... the flavor is so complex. it’s really hard to describe. I’m actually getting some hop bitterness, but no flavor or aroma from the hops. As the beer is warming, there’s a vast array of new flavors blooming. In the front is white and red raisons. Bubblegum? ... good lord. I think I’m gonna keep all 30 beers. Overall: It’’s absolutely amazing how the aroma and the flavor are so different, but go together so well. Head lasted the entire beer. i can’t say enough about this beer. It easily lives up to all the hype. I recommend going to http://shop.belgianshop.com and picking up some from this batch immediatly! You ahve to place a minimum of $50 order, so go ahead and grab yourself some glasses and maybe a lambic or saison while your at it. Flannagan http://www.homebrewchatter.com

Dark rich beer. caramel malts. pours and drinks very smoothly. This is the ever best Trappist beer !

Poured a beautiful deep rich brown with a huge white slightly tan head that just does not want to recede. Smells of sharp citrus hops. First taste is unbelievably smooth, balanced, hoppy, and slightly bitter. Did the Monks who brewed this take a vow of celibacy? I’m glad they did. The 10.2% ABV is very well hidden. This puppy lives up to its hype.

Bottle. Not sure how old, but I’m guessing 2007. Pours a dark brown colour with a white head. Aroma is rich of dark fruits, caramel, slightly roasty. Flavor is good, again with dark fruits very present. I’ve had better, maybe because I prefer beers that have a bit spicier lika x-mas beers. This is a very, very good beer, but I cannot give it a full top rating.

I’m not trying to be the contrarian in the group, but as with a lot of these highly rated beers, I just didn’t get it. It’s good and the palate is ultra clean, but other than that it was nothing to spectacular to me.

Tried a six-month old (or so) bottle from 2007. In every aspect, it’s just right and no more. Aroma and taste are rich with dark fruits: dates, figs, plums, raisins. Extremely smooth; very rich mouthfeel; sweet but not cloying; a very long finish that ends with a little dryness compared to the richness of the taste. I’d really like to try one again that’s been aged as recommended (the "best of" date is stamped on the bottle top, which is usually 3 years after bottling).