St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition

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

From the jovial label to the last drop of nectar, there’s isn’t much in a St. Bernardus I don’t enjoy. There’s a pure and beautiful simplicity uniting the layers of depth and richness in each brew to which the Abt culminates. I was unsurprised by this Special Edition, it was comforting to find my expectations fulfilled and my palate satisfied. Radiant as always, the pour reveals a clear erubescent glow vanishing into obscurity and covered in a thick beige dress folding upon itself as cloth would. The aroma is majestic, adding its usual caramel, fig, brown sugar and vanilla custard to an enhanced touch of dry hops and anise. Rich creamy tones reminiscent of crème brûlée appear prominently on the tongue, in conjunction to the common Abt base of dark, sweet fruits and malts. The finish shows plenty of cinnamon, emphasizing the subtle departure from St. Bernie’s original recipe. I found that the Special Edition was nearly on par with my previous experiences of the Abt, perhaps lacking the polish and depth age will provide. Hang on to your specimen for a couple years if you can.

bottle. aroma similar to regular. a little smoother and livlier at the same time. see reg abt12 rating for rest.

Pours deep mahogany with a tan foamy head that only slightly diminished. Sweet, spicy fruit dominates the aroma. Light mouthfeel with active carbonation. The alcohol warming kicks in in the finish. Flavor is orange peel mixed with roasted caramel.

Big thanks to my Secret Santa for this one! Frothy but dense head of fine bubbles. Great carbonation keep a thin wisp of foam on top for the duration. Nice aroma with plenty of sweet malts, raisins, candy sugar and doughy bread. Aroma is a little weaker than I expected but still very good. Color is a murky mahagony brown. Lively in the mouth and oh so wonderful. Rich and malty with lots of caramel, raisins, plums, candy sugar and a sharp bite from the alcohol and from a little late dryness. More flavors become evident as the brew warms a little. Noticable alcohol warming and kick. This bottle will put you on your butt very quickly. Finish is crisp and dry and malty and keeps you begging for more. An excelent quad. Not sure if it is better than the regular. Probably on par though.

Bottle. Essentially everything I said about the regular Abt 12 still applies. Except: there is more carbonation here and the alcohol seems more pronounced. As a reslt this one has a huge frothy head.

Bottle - malty aroma that is a bit sweet and just a touch hot. Deep amber bodyied. Very cloudy with a beige head. A bit fizzy and sharp. Malty and candy sugar sweet. Good.

A little too complex for me, and that sounds bad, but I think I am actually distancing myself from Belgians as of recently. This was good, but I couldn’t finish the whole bottle, maybe due to being full on food already. I will have to re-sample at another time.

Pours a deep brown with an amber hue in the light; well retained tan head. Huge aroma. Chocolatey & toffeeish malts, fruityness with hints of plums, and big yeastyness. Really bubbly body with buttery malts, hint of caramel, brownsugar coated raisins and huge toffeeness. This version seems more dry than the original, and it’s not quite as complex.