St. Bernardus Prior 8

Brewed by St. Bernard Brouwerij
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Watou, Belgium

750ml bottle. Pours brown with a nice off-white head that reduces to a cap along with some pretty good lacing. Aroma is sweet fruits, malty, candi sugar, some bread/yeast. Flavor is very malty, caramel, dark fruits, yeast/bread, a little spice, very nice. Mouthfeel is full and lively with relatively high carbonation. Excellent, and I expect nothing less from St. Bernardus.

Pours a dark, murky chestnut brown with a thick, creamy beige head that shows exceptional retention and thick lacing. The aroma is full of candi sugar and dark fruits, with a thick malty sweetness in the nose. There is also some spiciness in the nose, that almost tingles, from the Belgian yeast. The taste is even better with a big sweet fruit and lightly toasted bready malt backbone with lots of fruity esters lending a slight banana flavor to things. The finish is where the spices start to come out, cinnamon especially. The mouthfeel is very lively with lots of carbonation which leads the mouthfeel to feel lighter than it actually is. This a great beer - very complex but insanely drinkable for the style. Very sweet but with the right amount of toasted character and spices. Excellent.

Subtle sweet candi sugar nose. Deep, hazy gold/brown with soft white head. Incredibly smooth and full, sweet but not overly, with a hint of spice. Excellent.

Dark cider/brown color; Medium cream body; Aroma of malt, dark fruit, and spice; Flavor of sweet malt, fruit - notably apricots & plums, some caramel and spice; Well balanced and the alcohol is nicely blended; A lighter version of their 12 & more drinkable; Overall, a very good brew.

Dark fruit aroma with Belgium yeast smell. Cherries maybe? Nice aroma but not as good as the Tripel or the Abt 12. Very dark amber in color with a half to one finger white head that dissipates quickly. Mouthfeel is a cherry cordial with lots of carbonation. Nice dark fruit and cherry flavor with an alcohol burn and a very slight bitterness to the finish. Good beer but I like the Tripel and Abt 12 better.

Bottle: Cloudy and deep amber coloured, lots of floaties visible, medium-sized creamy beige head; moderate to solid sweet fruity (pears?) nose with a caramelly/toasty background; moderate to solid sweet flavour, creamy MF, medium bodied; warming alcohol in the robust sweet finish, balanced by a light bitterness. Strong, warming stuff.......

750 ml. bottle. Pours a rich earthy brown with slightly tan head. Alot going on in the aroma here, fruit - banana, apricot, plum, dark fruit. Clove, yeast. Taste reveals an incredibly complex barrage of flavors, first spices and hops giving way to malty fruitiness. Long finish of yeasty malt. This is good.

Bottle, 33cl. Pours dense brown, with compact tan head that endures. Aroma of sweet dark fruits, and similar with caramel, chocolate and candy on the palate. Great warming mouthfeel, with perfectly blended alcohol. A great ale.