St. Bernardus Abt 12

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Watou, Belgium

750 ml. bottle. Pours a a slightly red brown with creme brulee / khaki / gray white head. Small amount of bubbly froth lingers on the top. Soft nose, very fruity, banana, guava, plum, boysenberry, fig. Taste...where to begin.....a procession of fruit flavors with subtle but nice spiciness, complexity without any particular flavor overwhelming, slightly yeasty but crisp, long finish leaves breathe fruity but tongue dry. This beer seems to be doing everything, it’s a balanced mix of flavors, hard to describe with any particular one. After tasting it it’s no wonder the Abbot on the bottle looks so merry.

750mL mag --> trappist glass @50. Clear dark reddish brown - beautiful. Thick bubbly tan head slowly settles to a thin veil. Lacing is amazing - pretty sure I saw a Brontosaurus. This ale brings apples, flowers, cloves and bread to the nose. A swirl of the glass brings out earth and wood notes. The taste is almost as complex as the aroma. Sweet molasses, dried fruit with a salty juniper finish. Alcohol is present and warming but masked by the flavors and lively carbonation. This ale has medium body and, thankfully, is not oily. St. Bernardus has my full attention. Bravo.

750ml bottle. Dark brown color and poured to a 3 finger head. First taste is clove and sweet fruit followed by maltiness and alcohol (10% abv). A classic Abby beer.

This one has a great head that foams quickly. I opened it too fast and it foamed out :) Great aroma of bananas, cherries, and other fruits. Awesome. Apple and banana goodness in the flavor. Alcohol more evident in this one than the Westvelteren. But overall, this is pretty damn close to the Westvelteren 12. Highly recommended.

750ml corked & caged bottle from grape & gourmet. pours a beautiful ruby-streaked brown with a thick, full, off-white head and amazing lacing. aroma is a spectacular blend of rich, dark fruit notes of of raisin, fig, and black cherry with hints of spiced banana bread, belgian yeast, cloves, and dry cedar wood with the slightest touch of earthy, citrus hops. flavor is outstanding as well with dark fruit notes of plum, cherry, red apple skin, and raisin backed by sweet candy sugar, molasses, and yeast with a spicy kick of clove and cinnamon on the back end. palate is medium bodied and highly carbonated leaving a dry, warming alcohol finish with hints of cedar. truly a remarkable beer. one of the best.

After the beer was served in the glass there was found a lasting quantity not wall adhesive white foam collar which was fine and evenly of structure. The beer also contained no carbonic acid in the glass. The beer has a thick dark brown color and a candy sweet taste. The after tast of the beer is hoppybitter with a candy touch. This beer smells light alcoholiclly.

Excellent example of a Belgian quadrupel with some almost fruit like flavors mixed in with the complex palate.

Pours a dark brown color with a large off white head. An almost sweet roast nose. Bitter fruit/raisin taste with a noticeable amount of alcohol. Medium body with sticky texture and soft carbonation. The beer finishes with almost a sour taste. Overall very good in small doses, almost too sweet for me to have more than one.