St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition

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

Reminds me of the first time my "virgin" palate tasted the original. Seems it takes a doosey to suprise me these days. With the mahoganey richness offset by the off-white and very rich head, this is probably the best looking Belgian beer I’ve had in a while. Classic abt. 12 aromas that permeate through the rich foam. Plenty of sweet brown sugar on the entry followed by fresh fig and raisiney spice. Finishes in a measured and balanced style that seems to linger without wearing out its welcome. There really is a lot to say about this beer, more than I have room for here. So, I guess I’ll have to have another....

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!

Been sitting on this one for about a year. Was suppose to have it last Christmas or New Years. Well, today is the day. Tin Can/Brown Paper Wrapped 750ml Caged/Corked Nice loud pop apond opening. Poured into a Delirium Tulip, a nice ruby red/mahongy color, awesome carbonation, huge two-finger creamy light tan head, tons of thick sticky lacing follows and stay with the drink. The nose is malty, slight yeast, dark fruits (figs, raisins, plums), and a nice touch of caramel. The taste is simply amazing, malty, sweet, slight tangyness, dark fruits, and caramel. The alcohol is hidden very very well on this one. Full body, this is a well-rounded/complex brew. Very drinkable, a truely delicious brew, highly recommended.

Pours a deep amber brown color w/ a full, semi creamy froth that takes it’s time and dissipates to a canopy w/ full lacing. Aroma of granite and candy. Full nectar w/ ample residual effers. The flavor reminds me of those fruit roll-ups. Strong flavors of dried, gummy, cooked fruit. Aged apricot, persimmons, peach, black cherry, slight fig, rich yet mellow tobacco. Theres a slight acidity to this that really appeals to me. The texture is on the rough side, not so refined. I like that. As this brew warms a steaky flavor appears. Finish is long and tasty w/ a more peach pit style bttering. The complexities really present themselves thoroughly. Theres no mistaking. This is a classic. I actually like this better than the original, just slightly. Connoisseurs Choice. Highly Recommended.

I truly loved this Abby ale. Dark compl;ex yet with a sweet almost caramel finish. This Als is one of my favorites! The finest hops in the world went into making this bottle and that is something you can taste n every delisious drop.

I’ve been a fan of the Abt12 for some time now and this version just blows me away! Deep chestnut brown with a long lasting billowy frothy head. Big yeasty fruity aroma, plums, dried fruit and candy sugar. Velvety body which is quite full and satisfying. Flavor leans to sweet and malty with generous notes of brown sugar and figs. This is one to savor. Hopefully I can find a few more bottles before it dissappears!

The 60th Anniversary version of the Abt 12 came in a bottle that displayed very similar packaging to the “ordinary” Abt 12. The main difference being that the darker shade on blue on the shield, and the words special edition printed above this. The beer poured contemplatively translucent brown into the St. Bernardus chalice, with a well proportioned beige head that left a solid wall of lacing all around. The aroma of the beer surprised me in its hop intensity. The floral and earthy hop varieties seemed to have been used in sufficient quantities to overcome the hefty grain bill. Behind the hops were the sweet smells of saffron, cherry, and red delicious apple reassuring that this was indeed a Quadrupel. At the first sip, the beer just exploded onto the palette with a complex mixture of a multitude of flavors. So much was going on here; it was a little difficult to pinpoint what was the most dominant impression. Perhaps it was the deeply embedded raisin sweetness up front, or it may have been the citric sourness aided by the carbonation tingling my cheeks, or could it be that earthy hop kick felt at the back of the tongue, or was it the lingering black pepper taste left in the throat until the next sip entered it. Wow, this was such a complicated flavor profile that somehow still remained so cohesive. Missing from any of this was the 11 percent alcohol. The body also didn’t feel anywhere near the heft of such a strong beer. If this beer was so good at such a young age, I can’t imagine what a mind blowing experience this is going to become in 10 years.

bottle. i poured this a while a go and i haven’t put it to my lips yet. the nose is so fucking amazing. it starts with the expected earthy dates and plum aroma with a spiced cookie dough scent, but there is also some cotton candy notes and maple syrup. first sip was that crisp tongue jarring carbonation and then it opened up with a doughy chewy, something else ending in y, and dark fruits all over the place. nice egginess to this, a bit milky and good. the spice notes are working the right areas, peppered dumpling is the best i can describe it. very dry finish that allows a bit of pear and apple to peak out. vanilla and alcohol linger. tastes like a good fruit cake, thats right there is such a thing as good fruitcake.