Westvleteren 12

Brewed by Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Westvleteren, Belgium

First of all, I have no idea how everyone gets their hands on these in the states... I was IN Belgium and most places I looked were out. Luckily, I strolled into Brasserie Cambrinus in Bruges on a whim and there, sitting before me among all the other world favorites... I had my pick of all three varieties. Naturally I went for the king. There isn’t much I could say that hasn’t already been said by people with far greater palates and vocabularies - but in this taster’s opinion, it was worth every bit of hype. I took about half an hour drinking mine, be sure to do the same for yours.

bottle. Very dark brown with some ruby highlights. Aroma: Vinous, dark fruits, plums, raisin, very slight but good alcohol. Taste is around the same, fruity especially dark fruits, toffee, caramel.

Pours cloudy red/brown with a nice beige coloured head that persists for some time. Nose is quite fruit driven, big raisin and prune notes with a good amount of licorice aswell. Palate is full and creamy, with a big rum n raisin character. Supported by some dark caramel/chocolate malt, but no overt sweetness whatsoever. Finishes with a good hit of abv driven licorice with hops and yeast an afterthought. Unbelievable depth and richness. Little doubt why it is so highly regarded!

This isn’t just a great beer, it’s unique and I can attest this beer has earned every bit of hype that it receives.

Bottle thanks for sharing Jon. The look is a darker red color with not a whole lot of head. The smell is toffee, honey, sweet, malts, fruits, raisans, and caramel. The taste is caramel, alcohol, fruits, raisans, sweet, and toffee.

Sampled as a precursor to the Hopsnobbery Collective barley wine tasting on 3.14.09. Pours a clear amber with a thin off-white head. Aroma of malt, sugar, yeast and grape (similar to the 8, but not quite so grapey). Sweet malty flavor with yeast, many different fruits, and a somewhat boozy finish. Very good for a belgian, but I actually liked the 8 better.

Bottle: Cloudy brown with a small ring head. Mellow aroma of mild fruit followed by a smooth flavor of figs and perhaps some mild cherry. I only got a small sample and i think to get a thorough rating in I would have needed to drink the whole bottle. It hides the alcohol well and is extremely easy to drink.

Bought July 07 @ the Bier Tempel in Brussels. First time trying this for me too. Pours not quite clear dark mahogany brown, quite lovely foaming medium khaki head, settles to a covering layer. Aroma - dark fruits, dark malts, some earthy viney notes, muscovado and cherry too? Flavor - initial kick of strong alcohol notes. Full-bodied, dark fruits, cookie or cookie dough. Very creamy smooth palate. Final impression of bitter nuts and alcohol, yeast. This beer is not boozy or overly alcoholic, but it adds noticeably to the body.
For my notes, this tastes very very similar to st bernardus 12 maybe minus some of the cola / dr. pepper tones, so i dont see where people get off saying this is way better. This is also so smooth and straight edged that if I remember, the Rocheforts seemed more interesting at the time. But that’s impossible to say for sure without a side by side comparison.