Westvleteren 12

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

Pours dark brwon, small beige head, some floaties noted. Aroma of dark fruit, sherry, chocolate, sweet malt. Taste is a little sweeter than I expected, with plenty of fruit and some tart bitter notes. Some chocolate and caramel tastes are also present. Finish is a little warming. Mouth is smooth, with light carbonation. Overall, a very nice trappist ale.

Sampled February, 2004; Hop Leaf, Chicago
Total: 4.7
9/4/10/5/19
An immediate rich, bready aroma wafts from my glass as I pour this beer. This beer is topped by a light brown head that sits atop a brown beer. There are notes of sherry, plum, and raisin (though the raisin is definitely the most dominant aroma) in the nose. The beer smells sweet & rich as well. Well the taste is fairly rich & sweet; there is lots of fig and plum notes, which are joined by a woodiness that is in the taste as well. This beer was an awesome way to finish my great dinner at the Hop Leaf. There is an astringent complexity to this beer that just brings it to a whole other level, and there is a slightly musty character that integrates well with the rest of the flavors. I can fully understand why many consider this a world class beer. I really like how this beer is quite fruity in both the aroma and in the taste. The alcohol is very well hidden here, I can’t really detect it at all. The rich sweetness is very conducive to being an after dinner drink. This beer is like a rich, dark, sweet traditional German bread. What makes this beer so good is that it is extremely well integrated; absolutely world class.

Cap Best By Date November 2007; Sampled February 2009
Total:3.9
7/4/7/5/16
A vigorous pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip produces a two-finger thick, creamy, tan colored head. The beer is a dark, concentrated amber color that when held up to the light shows that I poured quite a bit of the sediment from the bottom of the bottle into my glass, but is also a hazy, bright cherry color. The aroma smells of spices and fruit with a rich, caramelized maltiness to the finish. Aromas of fig cake, brandy soaked fruit cake, some marzipan, clove, dried cherries, white pepper, candied ginger form the bright aromatic notes. There is a nice backbone here of must and damp earth, as well as some toasted malt character that provides a biscuit malt aromatics. Some higher alcohols provide a bit of spiciness as well as some warming character to the tail end of each draught of the nose. This has quite a rich nose to it, both the fruit and spices accentuate the perceived sweetness of the aroma.

Up front this beer is a bit lighter than I expected, as it rolls across my tongue though it starts to pick up a viscous richness and heft, though it still maintains the drinkability that I like to have in a strong Belgian ale. The beer has a definite sweetness (though not as much as the aroma might have suggested), but finishes with a spiciness that helps to dry the palate out. The beer is a bit carbonated still after the vigorous pour and it provides a prickly carbonation as it rolls across the tongue. fruit notes of prunes, musty figs and raisin are brought out by a touch of tartness as well as the sweetness in this beer. There is a definite mustiness to this beer, it is oxidation character that it has picked up over the years, and it mixes nicely with the spiciness in the finish. Speaking of which, the spiciness provides notes similar to white pepper, clove, a nutmeg like bite, some woody ginger and a touch of menthol in the long finish as well as some bitter cocoa. This definitely gets more complex as it warms up from the high 40°F (~8°C) that it started out at. The alcohol in the finish combines with the fruitiness to reminds me of Brandy.

Well I had a bug dive bomb this beer, so it must have though there was something worth drinking in my glass (one of my dogs got a tasty, Westy soaked morsel because of that). While this beer is quite good, I am quite disappointed in some ways. I haven’t had this in a couple years, and I am thinking I need to try a fresher version to see if it is more like my memory of having this in Belgium and at the Hop Leaf (where I had it last).

Strong fruity aroma, milde fruity estery and strong hopcharacter in balance. No diacetyl and a good strong bitterness long after tast and nice full strong beer body.

Glad I poured this one slow, as in the middle of a slow pour I got a GIANT plop as a big plug of sediment fell in the beer, even though I was careful. I was very concerned I had ruined it as it looked ghastly with floaties everywhere, but when they setlled.....wow. Just beautiful. Aroma of overripe fruits, english toffee, and yeast. Flavor is sweet, with a nice bitter hop profile, and one of the best finishes I’ve ever had. After the horrible pour, I was over the hype and expected disappointment, but this delivered and then some.

14 months old bottle, balancing my rating #666 with her holiness. Almost opaque dark ruby, lasting creamy beige head. A bit restrained, sweet roasty nose with dark candi sugar, herbs, clove, little milk chocolate and earth. Superbly balanced flavor, roasted maltiness, strong sweet liquorice, cocoa, pretty intensive herbs. Sweet lingering sugary finish with some earth, more sweet chocolate, moderate balancing hops and faint alcoho. Full bodied, lush and extremely smooth palate. Amazing sweet nightcap, probably gaining loads of complexity with age, as there’s still so much sugar to burn.

One of the best trappists around, I have a hidden stash of Westvleteren dating back from the mid seventies. I just drank a 1999 bottle and thought I died and went to heaven. This beer makes you consider celibacy.

Best of the Trappists. World of wonder in your mouth. Requires multiple tastings to discover all that’s inside. Best beer in the world? Probably not, but very close. Picked up a batch at the brewery, looking forward to how this beer will evolve in my cellar.

This 22-1-2008 brewn batch beer, personally retrieved from brewery, was a feast to get, to keep in stock for one year and to drink eventually. It poored a fine head with a bit of brown yeasty slur. That slur ruined my drink. It gave the head and a awful taste. I have to rely on my impressions of earlier consumed examples of this outstanding beer. It is less pronounced and sweet as the Rochefort 10. Has more bitters. Its no showof but more contemplative of nature. Tip for pouring, keep sludge absolutely out of the poured drink. Two more years of evolution are awaited with joy.