Westvleteren 12

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

A friend of mine gave me this beer when I visited him in France. As good as it was, I was not as enamored as most reviewers. First, the appearance was pedestrian--little head, no lace. Cloudy, brown color. The smell is brown sugar, similar to candy. The flavor matches this except that there is notable hop. Not surprisingly, very strong warm alcohol flavor and feel. This is a thick beer with a low level of carbonation.

(bottle) pours a murky dark brown colour with a small off-white head. aroma of bread dough, light chocolate and caramel, brown sugar and some mellow spice, not sweet at all. flavour is all of the above, quite sweet but never cloying, alcohol carries all the flavours and coats the mouth like icing. velvety mouthfeel, with a strong, full body and smooth carbonation.

pretty interesting beer, quite dark and strong, but really easy to drink. It’s certainly one of the best.

Pours darker brown color with a tan head. Aroma is of caramel malts, dark fruits, slight chocolate, and some acohol. Flavor was pretty much the same with more alcohol then I was expecting. Nice blend of flavors that aren’t overwhelming. Nice warming on the finish.

Bottle @ Volo, Toronto, ON: So excited to try this one - I’d planned on it being #1,000 but Volo made it much easier to obtain. Aroma of boozy black cherry, dark chocolate, lemon, caramel. Flavour is cognac, black pepper, grass, chocolate, stone fruits, black cherries and lots of subtle hopping that comes out strong after the swallow. Mellows so nicely, and amazingly smooth to drink. I can’t find anything wrong with it, just an exceptional beer.

Bottle, one month old, straight from the cellar. Pours a nice brown beer. Nose is not overwhelming, although nice and sweet aromas come trough. Rather small head. Taste is sweet with notes of caramel and chocolate and a nice warming after taste, yet not too overpowering.

Bottled 5/21/200, true Westvleteren bottle with no label. Sampled alongside the 8 and the Blonde. Was so incredibly excited to taste the #1 beer in the world, I might have gotten my hopes up a bit. While this is a very good beer, it’s not the best I’ve ever had -- in fact, I preferred the 8 even more! Dark brown murky pour with light edges. Thin cream-colored head fought hard to stay alive after a year-long journey from the brewery to the Midwest. Lots of fruit in the nose, from bright green apples to dark plums and some fig, tons of a caramel, and a whiff of booze. Flavor is incredibly sweet, with raw sugar overpowering the nice caramel and toffee undertones. This sugary sweetness is absent from the 8 and made it a better beer in my eyes.

Ok, finally I get to try this. Bottle picked up in a trade with the Beer Sommelier. Bottle doesn’t have the fancy label as the picture does. 2008 bottle. Nice fluffy head that appears to be fading away. The beer is nice and dark. Dark brown beer, that you can’t see through. Looks pretty good. Very nice dark fruit/candy aroma. Nice fruity smell. The alcohol is well hidden in the aroma. Nice pungent fruit aroma. Nice candy/fruit taste. Very smooth. The carbonation is not ridiculous; for this reason I give this beer a perfect palate score of 5. I am telling you one of the smoothest beers I have tried. Very nice dark fruit flavor. Fig taste with some yeast, and sugar sweetness. Very nice brew. I thought this beer might have been overrated, but I must say the score is quite in-line with its rating. Nice fruity beer with a DEEP flavor that just makes you go crazy. Again, very impressed, and just a powerful fruity beer.