Westvleteren 12

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

The head forms a loose ring around the edge of the glass. Slightly uneven, but fine-bubbled and more effervescent in this bright light than I would have imagined. Color is rusty, brownish-red color, partially translucent but hazy (bottle swirled). The incredibly complex aroma sets the stage perfectly for this beer. A multitude of different breads, sweetness, alcohol, date, plum, wine, yeast and many more things are here. The flavor is one of the most intriguing I’ve yet found. It goes through so much development, so many stages... The array of tastes as time goes by with each sip is truly wondrous. Malt is obviously in control here, lending a variety of fruit and other flavors that progresses into something new as the aftertaste comes about and as the beer warms. Complex, to say the least. The finish is equally intriguing, warming, and satisfying. Maybe the longest finish from any beer I’ve tried to date. One of my friends described it as ’the Earth in a glass.’ The changes this beer undergoes are amazing. Writing about it does it no justice at all, it must be tried. Find it.

An incredibly complex beer. Starts with a strong combination of flavors--chocolate at first, then evolves into ripe fruit/ banana flavor and raisin-nut. The most amazing thing about this beer is how smooth it is. At 10.8% abv, I don't detect even the slightest bit of alcohol flavor in the aftertaste. Truly amazing. I am hard pressed to find anything wrong with this beer. Maybe the finish could be a little longer, but that is still stretching it. Almost perfect, if there is such a thing.

Deeply aromatic and arousing, like a fine port or cgnac. Creamy and fruity with burnt alcohol notes. Smooth exquisite palate shows sweet creamy flavor, a fruitiness of maraschino cherries and cassis, hints of chocolate and woody tones. Cognac like alcohol finish just dries over the palate a little, but sweet creaminess returns and lingers long. Outstanding. Thanks to Davhgbrew for this one.

Well, hard to believe I have the opportunity to rate what is arguably the finest beer in the world. Again, thanks to austinpowers. Same beautiful color as the Westy 8. Quite a bit sweeter than the 8. I taste raisins and figs. It does have a cognac quality to it making it a beer I can sip and savor although I have a hard time sipping and savoring anything. An exceptionally high quality beer although my personal preference would have to be the 8.

What a beer to drink on Christmas day! Best before 07-05. Overwhelming aroma of malt, cinnamon, plums and butter. Sweet and thick. Buttery with roasted malt, plums, licorice, some well-hidden alcohol, apple, raisin, porto, cinnamon and pepper. Amazingly complex and powerful, sweet and overwhelming, delicious beer. Without any doubt one of the best beers in the world.

Bottle brought to me from my Uncle John shipped back from Monk’s in Philadelphia. A dark reddish brown swampy color with an off-white head that quickly subsided and laced. After the cap was taken off the bottle created a small head but never blew off the top. The aroma is predominantly of dark fruits and alcohol but builds to a stinging spicy fire in the nose if you keep drawing it in. Wonderful. A medium to full creamy smooth body that tingles the palate with its spirits. Everything about this beer becomes more intense as it warms. The alcohol is well hidden in the flavor but ever present at the edge of every sensation. The dark fruits and spice carry through to the flavor which has many layers that climax at different stages.

Had one shipped straight from Belgium. Not too much head as I was expecting, but everything else delivered. I don’t think i’m up to giving the flavor impressions yet, i’ll need more of them. Extremely soothing, complex, and got me way more drunk than I expected.<P>Rerate of a 2001 edition - 4 years old, wow, mellow, complex, yummy shit. Still, I lack the words.<P>Rerate again of a 2002 one, with more time on my hands: Deep orange bourbon mahogany color, thick retentive head, light lacing. The nose shows complete circle of life here. The water yields the earth, which yields plants such as apricot, figs, grass, floral notes. The plants support animals that create honey. The honey supports other lives and so on. Very clean, pleasant, full bodied yet mellow on the palate and easy drinking. Finishes delicious. So herbacious and fantastic that still, even when I try, I want to spend more time with the beer than the notes. What can I say?

Usually I prefer the smaller beers from within each Trappist brewery. Not in this case - the 12 has everything the 8 has and more. The alcohol presence is very welcome here, and carries the complex malt profile (dark fruit, spicy yeast flavors, a little tanginess) into the palate. Nearly identical in appearance to the 8. Deeply satisfying.