St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition

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

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.

In short: A superior Abt, fruity, chocolaty, very hoppy but with some chemical/medicinal off-flavours.
How: (complete re-rate) Bottle 750ml, 1+ year old, side-by-side with a regular St. Bernardus Abt 12 of same age
The look: Cloudy brown body with a small beige head
In long: Strong nose of raisins and roasted malt as well as a little chemical feeling of acetone. Dark fruits, thick caramel, molasses, roasted creamy malts, chocolate truffles. A bit dry and floury. Lots of leafy hops. Some lavender and mint and a little Mercurochrome (?!?). It has some problems but it has a lot of qualities.
Compared to the regular St. Bernardus Abt 12: I had both many times but finally drank a full bottle of each side by side my regular St. Bernardus Abt 12 bottle was the same age. Funny how I always thought the 60th anniversary was great until I drank it with the regular one. The Special Edition feels thinner, is less fruity, has more chocolate, is dryer/more floury, has a more upfront hop profile and mainly had a little annoying chemical feel to it (acetone, Mercurochrome) that really made the regular version shine.
In conclusion: Although excellent I don’t see a reason why drinking the this 60th anniversary special edition when the regular St. Bernardus Abt 12 is superior, cheaper and much easier to find. But still, at age 60 it’s great that St-Bernardus is still make beer for all those “damn long-hair pot-smoking hippie freak” out there

Aroma is a piquant blossom of oranges and passionfruit, dominated with bold yeast character, lightly phenolic, yet heavy with esters. Some dislike this, but I revel in the bready, moist quality. Murky sauteed apple brown pour, with amber fringes and a bright top of cream, off-white. Flavor has copious brandy alcohols, light pale fruits, particularly in apple, pear and cantelope, with ideals of pineapple and apricot. A touch warm, but not bad, instead bright and refreshing over the deep warm caramels and toasted sweet bread corners, dates and figs, with cinnamon and mulled spices pull through. Pears a plenty and lots mulling sugars in the end. A light crispness of hops wafts across in the end, bringing in some balance to heavy attack of sugar and alcohol. Delicious!

Just a brilliant beer. Pours a very dark brown with a off-white head that is very strong and smooth. Nose is spicy and sweet, plum, caramel, and clove. Taste starts sweet, caramel, oak, licorice, and chocolate. Very nice with no excess alcohol showing. Just so smooth and rich. These should age nicely as well.

750 ml. bottle – mahogany hue –nice off white head, small bubbles lingering – nose caramel , malt , cloves , nutty , sourdough , yeast , mint sprig , anis , jasmine , and menthol – taste oak , bourbon , caramel, earthy , smoke , mint / menthol , slight port wine – smooth but raw palate - aftertaste smoky , nutty , molasses , slight alcohol

Can’t believe I actually had this. Thanks aspidites. Pours out a murky dirt water color with an off-white head. Aroma was pepper, figs, raisins vinous, and plums. Flavors were so complex my head was spinning. There were orange peel, pepper, plums, black cherries, oak, and caramel. This is definitely a sipper and the longer you do, the better it gets. Absolutely, positively outstanding.

750 split three ways. Deep amber/brown with a large frothy head. Aroma is raisins/plums, light chocolate, earthy yeast. Taste is the same, with a more pronounced hop presence than the original version.