Westvleteren 12

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

11.2oz bottle, bottled 20.04.07--thanks to henrikb for this! My first rating in my new podunk town! Clear ruby brown with some chunky sediment and a one finger fading beige head down to a thin ring. Why doesn’t this look more impressive? Figs, raisins, and sweet slightly scorched caramel lead the aroma. Vanilla, Belgian yeast, and chocolate covered cherries come next. Flavor has the chocolate covered cherries (with the syrup and white sugary filling) coming stronger, and the alcohol blends well with this clear into the semi-dry slightly chalky finish, with bitterness peaking around a 2 to 3. Backing up a bit, the addition of a hint of leather makes its way into the flavor. Fairly vinous and figgy again as well. Full body with prickly low carbonation. For the top rated beer, I would have expected this to excel in all aspects, but it didn’t.

draught at in de vrede near the abbey. Simply put, fantastic. Caramel sweet smell. Taste is complex, every sip is different. Flavors of dark fruit, caramel, alcohol, very balanced and drinkable. Very smooth. Best I’ve ever had.

Bottle from 2005. Average size lovely creamy off-white diminishing head, hazy dark brown body. Aroma of raisin, plum port and heavy alcohol. Full body, creamy texture, soft carbonation and a distinct bitter finish. The flavor is heavy sweet and moderate bitter. A nice beer - but better when it is young

Una muy buena cerveza trapista. No creo que llegue a ser la mejor del mundo, aunque sí de las mejores. Seguramente gane puntos por la forma de venta y la historia que esconde tras de sí.

Finally I could taste the best beer in the world. I don’t have much experiance but this is defenatly the best beer I’ve ever tasted. It has a very rich flavour but I expected it would be sweeter. I liked it more this way!

12 oz. bottle - generously traded to me by jim74; cloudy, dark reddish brown; lots of flakes and still left about 1/2" in the bottom of the bottle; frothy tan head bubbles up and quickly fades to a thin, soapy film; lots of sweetness, dank fruit, brown sugar and fresh cut prunes (or something like that); velvety soft on the lips and very rich; wow, nose is top dog here; as is the creamy texture; flavor the only letdown, but just a slight one; a very big beer in richness and sweetness

33cl, exclusive brewery, from the brewery, very complex, but heavy (and sweet), cloudy, good head, very good brew

Big thanks to Jason for this one. Pours brown with a little slightly off-white head. Nothing too special to look at. Flavor and aroma are lots of dark fruits, with brown sugar and a lot of sweetness. Obviously this beer is well-regarded, as it should be, but to me it’s just not the best beer I’ve had.