Westvleteren 12

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

Serve in Trappist glass

UPDATED: AUG 21, 2011 I managed to get a bottle of this at the Sharp Edge in Pittsburgh. I am not sure how they got a hold of it but I will not complain. +++ Sampled from an 11.2 oz brown bottle this beer pours a dark brown color with a huge head that slowly dissipates. There is a strong sweet and spicy scent. The flavor is malty with hints of chocolate and smoke. There is a bitter sourness that lingers. A good beer to be sure but really does not live up to the hype. There are many Belgians that I prefer to this one.

Cap date 09.03.12, so it’s ~2.5 years old(?). Opened as part of a 4-way blind taste test with Abt 12, Rochefort 10, and Malheur 12. Thanks to Sarah for administering! The four of us participating all exclaimed something when smelling the (unbeknownst to us) Westy for the first time. Its aroma holds layers upon layers of complexity that the others simply couldn’t match. The term "bready" is thrown around often, but Westy actually smells like a freshly baked loaf of bread. Surprisingly strong caramel character too with a more tame spiciness than the others. As stated, we all agreed that this was the best aroma of the bunch. Extremely complex flavor without an over-reliance on the style’s traditional spice characteristics. Tons of caramel (again) atop a really interesting flavor profile. Bready. Significantly more interesting than the others. Finishes slightly sweet with lingering caramel amidst the boozy warmth. Westy 12 sports a fuller body than any of its peers. Noticeably more luscious and creamy than the others. The monks at Westvleteren deserve the hype they’ve earned over the years. This is the best Belgian Quad in the world, hands down.

Amazing beer. Great flavor great palate great pour. Did I say great lol this beer is amazing

Very dark brown, tan head. Nose is complex, sweet, dried plums, chocolate, pungent alcohol, malt, berries and caramel. Oily, stick palate, almost cloying, but not quite. Thick, chewy body. Taste is, again, complex. The elements of the nose blend together into a layered harmony with added liquorice notes, roastiness and some bitterness in the finish, complimented by the warming alcohol. Excellent and intriguing.

After hours of nonstop calling I managed to make an appointment at the St. Sixtus Abdij for 2x 24 bottles of TW12. I have tried a few bottles, the others ones are now lied away in the basement for over several years. It looks very dark with a white, little tanned and steady head, almost simular to Irish Coffee. The aroma has some sweet and fruitish elements. It’s flavor is a complex combination of sweet fruits and a bitter aftertaste which has hints of grapefruit. The alcohol, which is present with large numbers, isn’t noticable at all. I haven’t had any better beers (yet). It lives up to the hype. But the scarcity and the ordering process (together: the whole story) sure do their part as well. Aldus Huubs. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Not the best beer in the world! The taste is not that special as you aspect..

Birra unica nel suo genere dal colore marrone scuro con schiuma bianca e cremosa. l’aroma è di malto caramellato, tostato e luppolo. In bocca la dolcezza del malto viene equilibrata dal tostato in un alternanza di sapori frutti scuri, cioccolato, crosta di pane... Buonissima

Got the 6pack from ebay, and drunk the first one yesterday. Brown redish color, with a lovely medium to large brownish head. The carbonation is absolutely perfect, it’s soft although medium. Taste is maybe slightly too sweet for me, and still with a low bitterness. Everything’s in the aroma: spices, wood, fruits, herbs, toast, alcohol and maybe also cheese. As it is my first quadrupel, I’m still getting used to it and I wouldn’t give a score of 5, because the alcohol aroma is to high for me.

I like the complexity, but the final taste isn’t quite the perfect beer. Pretty freaking close, though.