St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition

Formerly brewed at St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Watou, Belgium

Deep amber brew, high sediment, exciting. Large foamy beige head very effervescent. caramel aroma, prunes and alcohol apparent. Big body, sweet caramel flavor is foremost present, alcohol burn hits immediately but in a good way, very warming. Watch out for this baby...it is very smooth and very enjoyable. The alcohol will sneak up on you.

750, cork and cage. Murky, mahogany red pour with a tan head. It looks like a quad. Prunes, dark fruit, toffee, caramel malt... toasty. Some roundish cherry sweetness in there also, buttery. Flavor is less complex but well balanced. Big malty and toasty first impression, some light bitter almond-ness. Finish is a little metallic, and the carbonation is almost offensive - the bubbles are huge. I’d be interested to have this side by side with their regular quad.

Deep amber color with a creamy beige head. Nose of dark fruit and toffee. Toffee sweetness continues into the beer, with lots of dark pit fruit, raisen bread, and some spice. Roasted grains come out in the finish. The 11% ABV is well hidden, and this is a really easy drinking big Quad.

Botella. Pours a hazy deep brown colour with a nice light brown head leaving a good lacing. Aroma of well toasted malt, yeast, caramel and some spices. Quite good mouthfeel. The flavour is sweet and yeasty with dark fruits, well toasted malt and caramel, some spices and a little alcohol.

Bottle Use By:2/5/11 , Taste 7/8: Looks: Dark cloudy red. Then yeasty top. Aroma: Light Alcohol, yeasty bisquit, dark fruit. Taste: Date, dough, pepper, wood. Lively, spicy. Alcohol well hidden. Mild cream and vanilla.

Pours a dark carmel with a thick white head. Taste is incredibly smooth with carmel undertones. nice clean finish. One of the best i’ve had.

Amber/brown in colour, beige coloured head, good retention, excellent lacing. The aroma is of plums, figs, apples, red grapes, some light yeast, light sweetness, minor alcohol. The flavour was sweet, some plums, caramel, no alcohol, lots of dark fruits. Thin mouthfeel, medium/light body, moderate carbonation. Finishes a little thin, some sweetness.

This one felt a bit thin to me. It didn’t really grab my attention but non of the St. Bernardus beer really have. The hiding of the alcohol is credit to the brewerr.

750ml bottle from the Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York.
Opened on December 31, 2007.
No date.

750 ml bottle. Pours a deep brown color with a ton of floaties. Medium sized, off white head. Aroma of clove, bananas, strong yeast. Flavor is initially a bit sweet. Molasses and dark fruit notes really shine and compliment the malty backbone. As beer warms up, alcohol becomes pronounced. Light bitter finish, some pepper.