St. Bernardus Prior 8

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

Dark caramel color with a foamy tan head. Aroma of caramel and spices. Flavor is disappointingly thin. Lightly bitter and sour, quite dry. Not as good as other St. Bernard beers that I have had, but still not bad.

11.2 oz bottle into a tulip glass. Subtle caramel malty, candi, and dried fruit aromas. Hazy brown color, sparkling, poured a thick off-white head slowly fading to a nice minimal lace. Medium sweet, medium bitterness. Full bodied, thin texture, lively carbonation, definite sharpness, then bitter-sweet finish. Found it quite aggressive with it’s aromas and effect on my palate, but liked it more, the more I sipped. Would try this again.

330mL Bottle. Rated blind. Seventh out of a set of 12 Abbey Dubbels. Minimal to no aroma. If anything, a sharp metallic malt character. Pours a murky red-brown, with a rocky, laced tan head. Flavor has a blood-like metallic dominant flavor. Sharp, ringing alcohol, light acid, and stale pils malt behind. Foamy, alcohol-forward and dry. The yeast didn’t lend too much character, some pinging spiciness, and the malt character really doesn’t hold up to the sharpness of the yeast and alcohol. Finishes on some juicyfruit an hop dryness. Mediocre.

I actually like the Pater 6 better. The beers are very similar. The Prior 8 takes the profile of the 6 and magnifies it with a bolder smell, taste, and alcohol content. I like the 6 because it was smoother.

Poured a murky brownish with a decent head that lasts and produces nice lacing. Malty aroma with dark fruit. Fig, prunes, dates, and other fruits. Very light on the palate but pleasing. Really nice.

Very dark brown with a short lasting head. Aroma of earthiness and yeast - perhaps a bit of malt. It has a refreshing taste - surprising for a dark beer. It’s very carbonated with tangy flavors. The finish is bitter and malty. I like this one and on first impression, may enjoy it a bit more than their #12.

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.