UPDATED: DEC 27, 2021 Troebel door de eiwitten in het bier, vol, zoet en iets zurig waardoor je haast zou denken dat hier wilde gisten aan het werk zijn gegaan. Een lekker vol frisse trappist met een kandij zoetje en een volle neus. Misschien wel de beste uit Westvleteren.

UPDATED: JAN 30, 2021 Aroma; dark malt, caramel, honey, spices, fruits n berries. Look; big fawn head, on brown body. Not pale. Taste; sweet dark malt, dried juicy fruit, herbal hops, yeast, honey malts, berries, and finishes to the malted side but fruity too. Feel; pleasant body and co². Overall; nice n yasty. Really retired? I think it is too good for retirement. Not boozy, but fine beer. [slim bottle 33cl, possibly from hypermk of pl, T@apt o PivotekaH7]

UPDATED: JUL 20, 2020 Bottle 1997 vintage - pours brown with beige head. Still carbed. Nose/taste of lightly toasted grain, earthiness, baked bread, slightly moldy caramel. Touch of oxidation, but not unpleasantly so. Med body.

UPDATED: JUN 26, 2020 Bottle.bb 10.2020. Clear straw, thick, creamy, not too pretty but generally stable, white head, a lot of lacing. Aroma malty, honey, flowers, a little fruity, pears. Taste thick, full, dense, rather on the dry side. Carbonation high, definitely tingling, as expected. Bitterness medium to high, herbal. Aftertaste peppery, herbal, fruity, pears, peaches. Very nice.

UPDATED: DEC 30, 2019 Bevuta in bottiglia da 33. Aroma dolce, con sentori floreali e una componente pungente. Cfgpr

Robe blond clair aux subtiles nuances orangées, assez trouble, presque laiteux avec beaucoup de fine levure en suspension. Belle mousse épaisse, semblable à des blancs en neige pas trop fermes, tenaces. Nez marqué sur la levure, avec un fruité assez rond. En bouche, l'attaque est ronde, avec du malt léger et de la levure, mais dans la longueur une belle amertume éclot, et prend le pas sur le reste, sans être pour autant extrême, et tend à s'atténuer au fil de la dégustation. Le corps est légèrement fruité et fleuri, très agréable et subtil.

Wybuchowo przesycone, lekkie i dosc anonimowe, prawdziwy fun daje legendarna dwunastka, tu jest tylko "nudna Belgia"

UPDATED: JAN 2, 2018 Degustada de tirador en la misma abadia,de cuerpo ligero a medio,bastante gasificada,sutilmente caramelada,refrescante.

From Apr 2009. 1996 vintage purchased from the Cracked Kettle in Amsterdam online. Red cap, says 26 6 98 A big whaff of yeast hits my nosebuds when I popped the cap. It pours a hazy to cloudy rust colour with about a 1 finger head of foam. Tilting my glass, the lacing is superb! The smell has a strong yeasty nose with also strong notes of candy sugar, spice(pepper), and an overall earthy nose. Some tartness here as well. The taste starts off very yeasty and tart with a mild flavour of white pepper, and when I say tart, I don't mean in your face sourness, no, it's much more subtle than that and goes superbly with the yeasty tones that dominate this brew. The candy sugar sweetness is also subtle but at just the right level for my palate. Wow. There's a lot of fruitiness here as well with some flavours of grapes and plums. I just poured the rest of the bottle and it turns a dark cloudy brown. Usually, the best to be found in a Belgian Ale shows up in that final pour. I can't say that anything improved with that last pour...it tastes the same...brilliant! And..I'm not just saying that because of its rarity or the cost to me getting it. It's just bloody amazing. Btw, head retention=first class. Lacing dropped off a bit after the first pour. Taste and drinkability=off the charts. Mouthfeel=on the light side but worked extremely well. Bottom line: Would I seek this out again? It's expensive as hell and isn't always available, even from the Cracked Kettle, but the answer is...yes!

0,33l bottle, BBD: 21.01.02 Pours almost clear rubby red to brown liquid, big creamy tan head, griotte cherries, wood ageing, malty, caramel, cranbberies, medium sweet, light to medium biter, light to medium sour, cherry wood, griotte cherries, caramel, malty, slight mettalic off taste, toffee, biscuit, slight barnyard notes, but no sour, neither funky, Palate: medium body, average carbonation, slick mouthfeel, long caramel woody aftertaste, Overall, good beer, excelent if we consider that this one is 15 years after BBD, when stored in bottleshop in belgium, not stored in fridge and with only 6,2%. alc. Enjoyed this extremely rare discontinued piece.