 eaglefan538 (2021), Wilmington, Delaware, USA
Jun 2, 2006 Updated: Jul 14, 2007
An absolutely enjoyable experience. St. Bernie’s poured a wonderful dark brown color with an enormous head that was well sustained. The lacing and rings of foam left behind (still there when all was gone) was great. The mouthfeel was fuller but not richer than what I remembered for the Roche 10 (and the sedimentation much less). Was nicely carbonated. The aroma was spicey and full of dark fruits. Flavor was plum like and candy-sugared with great spicing and a noticeable, but pleasant touch of alcohol. At almost half the price of Roche 10, this will be my "treat" beer in the future - monks or no monks. Re-rate, 2/07, dropping a few nothces, not as rich in the dark fruit area as I once thought, yeasty spice was the distinguishing feature of this one. At the same 2/07 re-reate, a 1.5yr aged version was a bit too much caramel-like with some teabag flavors, lacking the dark fruit complexity, lacking the spiciness, and lacking the yeastiness. I can’t hold a position that this thing aged better than it was fresh, that’s for sure. No points knocked off my numbers for the aged bottle, but it dropped a few notches here and there based on the retaste. Re-rate, 7/07 in a horizontal alongside Westv 12 and Roche 10, this was right in the middle of both, Roche 10 #1. Appearance solid with a nice frothy head, great retention and lacing. The aroma had some floral notes, faint dark fruits, caramel, grapes, light plums, light cocoa with a bitter bready yeasty finish, some coriander spices also zinging there. Mouthfeel was full with dry bitterness and spicey zing, alcohol well blended into the picture. My second favorite behind Roche 10.
BoBoChamp (255), Gent, Belgium
Jul 22, 2008 33cl, from De Hopduvel Gent, very complex brew, sweet, cloudy, good head, very good brew, the best of the St.-Bernardus range
cluny6 (41), Cambridge, England
Jul 21, 2008 Pours dark brown and very cloudy. Nice medium frothy head. Sweet smelling with alcohol present. reminds me of a confit of "frutos del bosque". Alcohol ever present but not overpowering. Sweet taste with molasses, some christmass spices. In short, the flavor is extremely complex. It will takea few more of these until I can get an accurate description. A beer to be enjoyed with strong cheese or by itself. Not the kinda stuff you want to drink all night at a bar, this is something you make time for and savor.
Fyrdraca (2), Macon, Georgia, USA
does not count  Jul 19, 2008 An excellent beer. Probably the best-smelling one I’ve ever had. The aroma fails to betray the fruitiness of the beer’s smooth taste. Has an okay head, but not as thick as I’d like. Again, it’s remarkably smooth and complex. The bottom of the glass has a significantly more pronounced bite. Fantastic beer.
GAManiac (211), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Jul 19, 2008 Bottle. Pours dark, dark brown with hints of cola coloring around the edges. The head is massive, off-white and lasts quite a while leaving good lacing. All kinds of doughy stuff floating around in this one as well.
Big sweet and massively complex aromas. There’s belgian yeast, sugar, plums, bubble gum, nuts...extremely pleasing to the nose.
Taste is just as complex as the nose with sweet malts, yeast, dark fruits and even a little chocolate. The layers of flavors just keep coming and leave a wonderfully sweet aftertaste that lingers pleasantly on the tongue.
Mouthfeel is truly exceptional. Perfect medium to full body with high carbonation that tickles the tongue with the myriad of flavors. Creamy and delightful.
This is the beer that got me started on craft beers and so I’m always going to have a couple of these on hand. One of my absolute favorites.
kosko20 (21), Bemidji, Minnesota, USA
Jul 17, 2008 Looks and smells fantastic. Nice, thick head and aromas of fruit and barley. The flavor decent and is smooth in the begining but bites ya in the end.
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