St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition

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

Have had about 3 of these so far, this one has aged a while. Pours out a beautiful mahogany with a small lacing tan head. Aroma of dark fruits. Taste is extremely complex, dried fruits namely fig and raisin come through with a slightly syrupy taste. Some caramel and sugary notes near the end, warming finish, but not boozy at all. Very good!

Bottle with nifty tin courtesy of Knightly Spirits. Saved this one for my 50th rate. Poured into my Chimay glass has a big fluffy head and a incredibly aromatic nose of dark fruit, malt and maple syrup. Looks awesome in the glad very nice dark mahogany color with a off white almost beige head. Left some pretty crazy lacing too. Taste is very much like its little brother the ABT 12 but with an additional maple syrup note and some muscatel and a dash of hops. Very rich heavy palate that grows more complex as it warms. A fantastic beer and another home run from one of my favorite breweries. The alcohol if possibly is even less noticable than in the regular ABT 12 perhaps because the palate is a little heavier? Either way, fantastic.

Big thanks to BMan1113VR for brining this beer back for me from California. This is my official #500 rating for beers. Pours a nice brown mahoganey with a light brown color head that is somewhat small. Nose is grapes, fruit, booze, port, malt and sugar. Taste is sweet and thick of syrup, dark fruits, and sugar. Very complex taste the opens as it finishes. The alcohol content is very well hidden as it has no bite to it at all. Finish is warming and long lasting. As the beer slides down your tongue it only gets better and more complex. Great brew.

750ml bottle from O’Brien’s San Diego. Poured a dark, murky swamp water brown with a big beige head that left nice lacing. Both aroma and flavor was dominated by dark fruits, roasted and caramel malts, and a hint of hops. Another awesome beer from Brouwerij St. Bernard.

Opened with quite a charge of CO2, pours with a fairly protein rich head, nice lacing as it slowly collapses. Ripe chocolate covered banana is the first and dominant aroma. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Wonderfully estery. Rich, candy sugary, dynamic, delicious.

Bottle. Average size off-white creamy head. Brown cloudy body. The aroma is spied and has notes of brown sugar. The flavor is very sweet but is in the end balanced with a bitter finish. A good powerfull beer.

No formal notes taken. There were scents of sweet dough, rock candy, currant, fig and spices. This follows through to a medium-bodied beer that was came off as light with the carbonation. FWIW, I prefer the "regular" Apt 12 to this Special Edition.

Poured a deep, translucent amber, nut brown with a thin white head that lasted the length of the glass. The special edition 60th anniversary bottle is clearly marked. Aroma is subtle, but if you get your nose right in there you can smell dark malted grain, biscuit, candy, brown sugar, almonds, toffee and yeast. Flavor is very sweet, malty, sugary, with flavors of banana, Belgian candy, butterscotch, vanilla, spice and grain. Finish is dry with a lasting sweetness and a touch of heat from the alcohol. Truthfully, what makes this beer so good is the subtly of the aromas and flavors and the way they marry themselves together.