St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition

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

The color was a deep amber. The head was off-white, creamy, and fluffy. The aroma consisted of mostly an alcohol, citris smell. The flavor was very alcoholy and yeasty (granted this was getting near the bottom of the bottle). The palate was smooth. The finish was very warm.

Pours a dark amber. The head is thick, creamy, and tanish white. The aroma has the musty fruity smell of the trappists. Mostly grape and some caramel. The flavor is smooth, creamy, some alcohol, fruity esters, hints of port. The palate is smooth and creamy. The finish is warm and dry. Overall a good quad.

Enjoyed with friends on Jen’s Birthday. Caramel color with lots of carbonation and a big bubbly head. The aroma has tons of sweet candied fruit (cherries and tropical – like pineapple) and some lovely malts. The flavor is sweet but a bit of a mess if you asked me. Sticky malts, banana, various fruit in abundance. Alcohol is forward and makes the finish warm. It’s good. A bit too carbonated but maintains a sticky body. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed this and would not turn a bottle or glass of this away. Clearly my favorite quad to date.

reddish brown body with medium head.. fig, raison, caramel, and chocolate nose that complements its toffee, nougat, postachio, and fig flavor profile. definite alcohol present, but not overbearing in any way..very nice

Bottle. First beer of 2007 as well. obxdude says it well, this has more hops than the regular Abt 12, and more citrus hints. Pours a deep brown with a very nice thick tan head with nice lacing. Decent body, a little thick with noticable alcohol, but very drinkable.

First beer of 2007! Awesome Belgian ale, a lot hoppier than I remember the regular 12 to be, a lot more grassy & citrus flavors, as well as a bit dryer, dark brown in color with a slight murkiness, big & fluffy tan head with great lacing around the glass, a beautiful beer to simply look at, malty nose with hints of apricots, chocolate, light coffee & light citrus, very inviting to drink & the flavors don’t disappoint, medium-heavy body but very drinkable & enjoyable, mostly malty flavors up front with notes of chocolate, toffee, apricots & a slight hint of alcohol, then those hops take over toward the back of the body, very light in the hop flavor but very noticable, this leads to a dry finish with more notes of chocolate, brown sugar & warming alcohol, I must confess that I didn’t realize this was a special edition when I picked it up at the store, but I’m very pleased & excitied with this "find", they had a few more there so I think I’ll be going back for a few more bottles, truly an exceptional beer! Happy New Year everyone!

750 ml bottle from Bello Vino in Ann Arbor, MI (December 2006), my last beer consumed in 2006, at a bit below cellar temperature from a Dieu du Ciel! tulip. A voluminous, very stable off-white fluffy meringue of a head covers the very dark, translucent copper/bronze body and dies extremely slowly leaving massive lacing.....the nose is at first quite hoppy and spicy, reminiscent more of an English barley wine than anything else, but dark Belgian malts and yeast soon assert themselves and a heavy breadiness and soft caramel accent show up....the flavor profile is similarly balanced between a strong fresh hoppiness and bright fruitiness, and Belgian candied fruits and dark malts, soft dry woody hops, and again it takes a few minutes and a few sips for it all to come together but eventually the odd mixture coalesces into a well-structured strong ale that, at about cellar temperature really comes into its own, sweet dark and tangy with luscious carbonation and a full yet supple and soft mouthfeel....a delight and worth being a New Years’ beer, any year. Happy 2007!

Great nose--grape, crewing gum, wood. Brown-red with furry-white head. Extremely soft palate. Yeasty finish, blackberries, alcohol. A little thinner than the ideal. Very good.