St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition

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

Bottle. Man what a great beer. I think I like this more than the regular 12. Great foamy head that leads to a beautifully smooth flavor and taste that lasts. Extremely well balanced. I need to get more. Cheers!

Bottle: Copper amber color, light head and lacing. Light tart malt, raisin and hop. A bit spongy with sugar and intense crimsony tea notes. Sakeish, koji? Buttery, nice melded finish. Different than their usual offerings. Nice maltiness. Very good Bernardus!

This special anniversary offering from St. Bernardus comes in a cool collectible tin. This offering pours a dark brown with no visibility leaving a thick tan head even though I poured gently. The aroma is alcohal, cherries, plums, dark pitted fruit, musty hay, with some acidic sour notes. The taste starts sweet, caramel brown sugar, tart citrus aspect that is followed by a faint hoppy bitterness but is malt dominated. The finish is slightly boozey, sweet, like orange candy, this brew is fresh and distinctively complex.

Very good beer,. Nice amber/copper color, great nutty aroma. Good overall flavor profile but seemed kinda week in flavor and body for an 11% beer. As far as Belgians go, definatly worth the try. Not the best but better than Chimay.

750 mL bottle. Pours a medium-brown appearance; light-tan head with decent retention and lacing. Strongy, yeasty aroma: brown sugar and citrusy hops. Very similar to non-S.E. version. Medium-to-full, sweet mouthfeel: yeasty up front, maple syrup and brown sugar; citrus and spice; over-carbonated (per usual with SB12’s 750 mL bottles). Medium finish: yeast, sugar, lightly hopped.

This ale blew me away completely. Pears, chocolate, and clove in the nose, as well as in the flavor, which also features toffee, ginger, and banana. Impeccable balance, with a well-retained bead, soft carbonation, and a silky body, which while not as rich as its Trappist counterpart Westvleteren 12, is very ample, and I find this beer more lively than that one. The finish is extremely long, mouthcoating, and pleasing, and overall, this may be one of the finest ales I’ve ever had the pleasure of sipping!

60th Anniversary tin shared at Coastal Wine Connection’s monthly tasting. Bought a bottle for myself for this future re-rating (June 2007). Pours a deep and dark, muddy brown, with a gigant and firm head. The mellow aroma evokes a fruit salad. The drink is malty, yet fruity and sweet with an almost raisiny aspect, and sweet like an overripe pear. Mellow for a quadrupel. Quite well put together.

Bottle came in tin. Smells of malt, apples and strongly of alcohol. Head disappears quickly. Taste has light spices to it. Malty. Wonderfully smooth taste with a nice bite of alcohol at the end.