Westvleteren 12

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

Faint aroma. I couldn’t help it, I was quite disappointed by the smell, but the taste of this is excellent. Very sweet, but the complexity never makes it cloying. So many fruits in this.. Excellent brew, but is this the best in the world? I can imagine this being to sweet for me on some days, I’d rather have a Rochefort 10 then...

Mad props to Tony at Oldsmar Tap House for the Westy 8, 12, and Blonde side-by-side. Judging by appearance alone, one would have no idea that this is the highly-regarded nectar of God Himself, as it is quite an unattractive brown liquid just sitting in a snifter. Aroma and corresponding flavors are as complex as a Thanksgiving feast -- spicy figs, dates, brown sugar, touches of honey and molasses, rich malts, nutmeg all over top subtle warm alcohol. Definitely a complexity of flavor that is unrivaled to date for me personally. It’s an absolutely stunning beer that lives up to its reputation.

Quite simply the best beer I have ever tasted. The initial petrol/diesel waft melts quickly into an excellent palate taste of spice and warmth. Just edges St Bernadus for me, but only due to rarity making drinking a bottle a special occasion (as opposed to the St Bern’ which I can get in my local pub)

A 12 oz. bottle split courtesy of a dude who doesn’t have a screen name or account on here. I was very thankful for getting to try this famous brew! Pours a dark brown nondescript looking fluid with great whitish tan head with adequate lacing. The aroma is of trappist yeast, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and slight alcohol. The mouthfeel is smooth but adequately carbonated. The flavor is classic trappist with spicy cinnamon and sugar with hints of dried fruits. All bow to the great Westy 12!

Lived up to the hype. Huge dark fruits and slight roastiness aroma. Figs, brown sugar, bread, plums, other dark fruits and cookie flavor. Finish is long and sweet. Syrupy mouth feel. Amazing beer. I bought 6 of them and I’m going to age 2 of them. Can’t wait to try them in a few years.

So this is THE big one... ahem. Pours dark ruby/brown with billowy off-white head. I don’t normally mention lacing, but this leaves loads of it all over the glass, kind of like abstract art that draws in yet another sense. I’m trying to find something consistent in the nose, but there isn’t one single element: loads of raisins and raspberries, then peaches, then smoky Rodenbach-esque fruit sour refreshment, then malts that remind of bread and brown sugar, then a warm alcohol that gives it an incredible depth and weight. Moving on before it evaporates... The flavor is very similar to the nose, a little more bread and dark fruit. The alcohol is really minor but begins to emerge with warmth, as do some sticky bitterness and salt. The beer is effortless in it’s glide and soooo smooth given the weight. The Rochefort 10 is a messy sledgehammer by comparison, but it seems unfair to place Rochefort up against this giant... are they really the same style? The outstanding complexity here is matched by an incredible delicacy, something I haven’t seen in any other Abt/Quad. Yeah, this one’s worth all the hype.

Candy brown sugar molasses candy nutmeg / wormwood spice ... A very over hyped beer IMHO .. St. Bernardus abt 12 is just as good and some people will say it’s better and less money too ...

Thanks to kiefdog for letting me experience this treasure of the beer world. Amazing Belgian Trappist Ale. Candy sugar, plum, and malt smell. Taste (besides phenomenal), Candy sugar, plum and other dark sweet fruit, a bit of oak towards the end, and a wonderful sweet creamy taste. It was a wonderful treat from the day to day.