Westvleteren 12

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

Opened and shared with a couple of friends. It’s a beer you have to share and talk about and we sat around the table for 20 minutes talking about the best beer in the world, what it is, subjectivity, what makes this beer the supposed number 1... for those reasons alone it’s a brilliant beer to drink, but for the flavour in my glass it isn’t the best beer in the world. And there isn’t a category for ’talkability’. Give it to me at the cafe opposite the brewery and I’ll see if it changes my mind.

oh boy did i like this one! Don’t know where to start but i will start of, the colour is incredibly rich and dark, a little ruby like. The aroma is fantastic and can only remind you of where it came from, the craftsmanship gone in and is rich in caramel, coffee like hints and butterscotch is what i seem to find. Going on with the taste, which is very abundant and just as good as the aroma. Very smooth and still so full of spicey yet subtile dark flavours. A perfect example of appearance, taste and experience. Making an appointment at the st. sixtus abbey soon to pick up another stack!

(New Year’s Eve tasting Flight (3 of 3 11:44p)) Westvleteren 12 - What a difference in head. While the Westy Blonde and Extra 8 poured huge heads that almost escaped the glass, this one poured a 1/4" head of foam, which has now disappated to just a bubbly ring, visually like cola soda. Color of body is dark brown. Aroma of dark chocolate with some brown sugars. Also a smooth backbone of dark malts. No real hop aromatics at all. Very raisiny flavor. Full mouthfeel. Carbonation can also be felt in the mouth. Interestingly, of the three this one didn’t have any sediment in the bottle, while there was sludge on the bottom of the lighter beers. Warming in the throat. Enjoyable, but not sure I would want to drink this as often as the Westy 8.

Bright golden color with elegant rising columns of bubbles. White bread and corn syrup aromas, Leaner body and soft mouthfeel akin to a very sweet, and light bock with malt subtleties. Thank you local Ratebeerians for this taster Westy 12!

A huge Thanks to fata for this wonderful beer. I have been waiting for this for some time now and finally got my hands on one. Lots of dried fruit in taste with bread and nuts. very complex taste with good carbination. Very earthy flovor. This is a truely a great beer.

Dark brown pour with a full white head. Aroma is massive raisin, dates, booze, vanilla, bread, biscuit, vanilla lady lingers soaked in a rum raisin. Flavor is on the sweet side with molasses and brown sugar comming through in spades. A deep maltiness is ballanced with a light nuttiness and a heavy dose of booze. Mouthfeel is creamy and wonderful. Breathtaking.

Another unbelievable birthday present from jblauvs; I’ve been looking for this beer since I first knew what good beer was. Pours an incredibly dark plum/brown with a super thick beige head. Aroma is out of this world- massive amounts of raisin, cherry, plum, date, almond, caramel, vanilla, and other dark fruits. Alcohol is beautifully manifested in sweet and bready concept, like a rum raisin flavor. Flavor is also extraordinary; dark fruit is abound, with lots of plum, molasses, caramel, and raisin, but there is also a beautiful note of sweet nuts, like almond paste. The alcohol mixes in and is definitely present, but doesn’t detract from the flavor in any way. The palate also conveys this complexity; the sweetness is thick on the tongue, but the booze adds a nice dry aspect as the flavor progresses into the later stages. This is the epitome of a quad; I am absolutely blown away. Top 3, maybe the best, of my beer tasting career so far.

Massive thanks to jblauvs and fonefan. Pours extremely dark brown with a huge fluffy beige head. Aroma is bursting with amazing amounts and arrangements of dark fruit: Raisin, cherry, fig, date, grape, cranberry, plum, and port wine. Further malt character presents in the form of caramel, toffee, and molasses. Yeast character is bready biscuit dough. The malt character is some of the most complex and pronounced that I’ve ever smelled. Flavor explodes with sweet vinous molasses and caramel. Dates, plum, fig, and all sorts of grape... they’re delicious and I love ’em! Nearly every possible malt incarnation is covered. Booze is barely noticeable due to the gratuitous sweet malt profile, but adds another dimension of its own. Palate is amazingly rich, creamy, velvety, rich, and chewy. The finish, is warming, combining alcohol dryness with sugar smacking sweetness. I’m speechless.