St. Amatus 12 - De Struise Brouwers

BobZ

Massachusetts

4.78/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Just opened and comsumed my second St. Amatus, this time with (about) a year of bottle conditioning.

This beer is exceptional, the chocolate comes through stronger than before and the smoothness is silky, this is truly one of the best beers in the world! Take the review below and change mouthfeel to extraordinary!

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Thanks to both Peter & Urbain! 330ml bottle poured into a Duvel Tulip. My most anticipated beer of 2010!

Appearance: Very rich maroon/dark brown with a virtually no head only a thin ring. As with other Struise beers the ring does manage to provide nice lacing throughout the beer.

Smell: Nice dark fruit notes on the nose, maybe some caramel and definitely some spice.

Taste: Wow, congratulations Urbain, this is an exceptional brew, chocolate, caramel, dark fruit, all working perfectly in concert. Exceptional beer! And it's so young I can't wait to let this one cellar for a year or two.

Mouth: Again a little "sharp" due to its freshness but still very good on the palate, well carbonated.

Drinkability: Very, very good, excellent beer, a must try for the Belgian Quad/Strong Dark Ale enthusiast

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2010 01:43:55 | More by BobZ

DeutschesBier

Maryland

4.18/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Huge thanks to Thijs (Brabander) for providing this!

I liked trying this beer with only 8 reviews, because I had no idea what to expect. The appearance was awesome. It was definitely darker than I imagined it would be. Right away, I got hints of several smells I expected from a Belgian Quad like this one - figs, cherries, caramel, and (maybe) a little chocolate.

I loved the taste of it, although I think it could use some aging. It was good, but I think this beer after a year or two would be perfect. It had more of an alcohol burn than Westvleteren, Bernardus, Rochefort, and some other delicious Belgian beers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this beer. I may never drink another, but I am glad I got to try this one!

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2010 15:02:26 | More by DeutschesBier

womencantsail

California

4.15/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Jer for sharing this one.

A: The pour is a dark brown color with some hints of red and purple and a creamy off-white head.

S: The nose is full of dark stone fruits, caramel, toffee, molasses, and really dense and hearty bread. An excellent spice note to the beer, enhancing the bread qualities, as does the yeatiness.

T: The bread dominates the flavor, with a mild sweetness of plums and figs, and maybe some dark cherries complimenting it. An almost hunger satisfying flavor, I must say.

M: The body is full with a great level of rolling, creamy carbonation that you seem to only find in quads.

D: Quite a good beer from De Struise and I think this one would be great to enjoy on a cold evening. As it was, not exactly perfect on a 90 afternoon, but still tasty.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2010 06:30:11 | More by womencantsail

Jwale73

Rhode Island

4/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks very much to jedwards for sharing this - I've been wanting to try this one for a while. Poured a hazy plum with an off-white skim of a head that dissipates into some bubbles around the edges. Nose reveals bubblegum, dark fruit and a little booze. Taste follows nose - not as sweet as suggested by the aromas, but the booze definitely carries over to the flavor profile. Mouthfeel is medium in body, with a light carbonation and a slightly dry finish. Definitely a solid Quad - not overly sweet and well-balanced. Well worth your time if you get the chance to give it a try. Considering the 10.50% abv, the alcohol is pretty well hidden.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2010 23:53:30 | More by Jwale73

eric5bellies

Australia

4.6/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Drank at the Molenhof Bar Oestvleteren.

A - Pours a dark mahogany almost ebony colour with an off white head that retains well.

S - Plenty of spice and yeasty aromas with slight molassis.

T - Really nicely balanced flavours of dark fruit, raisins, coffee and toffee.

M - Medium to full bodied with lwow carbonation

D - Another great offering from De Struise

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2010 18:27:20 | More by eric5bellies

Brabander

Netherlands

4.53/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bought this beer when i was with UncleJimbo in Oostvleteren, a few weeks ago. We visisted Urbain who showed us around. See for the film on my profile.

Poured in the Struise glass Urbain gave me the beer looks stunning. Black as oil and only with a lot of backlight you can see the liquid turn to very very darkbrown/black.

The head is very nice lightbrown which makes the appearance exceptional.

The smell is like a lot of Struise beers, very good with some hints of spices and oak.

The taste is good and with a very good mouthfeel and a good drinkability this is a beer you should have to taste when you are a qaud lover.

I drank this wonderfull beer last night for the 5th time and it stays one of my favourites!!!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2010 11:32:54 | More by Brabander

weissbierdrinker

Belgium

4.45/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark brown color with a deep ruby hint around the edges. A vigorous pour produces a creamy brown head that fades leaving a nice amount of lacing around the glass.

Smell is of over ripe plums, dried figs, candi sugar, nutmeg?

First sip and wow, this is a tasty beer. Huge roasted malts, caramel flavors, bourbon, dried fruit. A brief sour note. The body is thick and velvety. Carbonation is light. A second sip shows more of the barrel aging, you can really taste it, some brown sugar, a molasses flavor is very present. Kind of a sweet beer but not sugary sweet. Flavor makes you lick your lips. More bourbon shows up in the finish. The aftertaste is molasses like and lingers. I imagine this to be a perfect desert beer after a big heavy meal. For 10.5 abv the alcohol is well hidden.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2010 13:42:54 | More by weissbierdrinker

crnipeter

Slovenia

3.98/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Vintage 2010, into St. Bernardus goblet. Pours dark caramel-brown hazy body topped by moderate creamy head that sets down to a stable veil. Swirling coats the glass with a delicate, short-lived lacework quickly broken into tiny patches sliding down the walls.
The initial fruity aroma of figs and raisins is quickly blown away by clean spicy alcohol - which is quite disturbing and adds negatively to the overall impression; red wine and unrefined sugar. The flavor is malty, with fruity tartness , red wine, spicy yeast and alcohol. The low carbonated body is creamy with smooth transitions between the nicely mellowed flavors.
A nice tribute to trappist quads but the evident alcohol presence sets a gap between the genuine trappists and Struise's attempt of mimicking the monk's work. However, the beer is still young and the remaining bottles might significantly improve with aging.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2010 21:35:30 | More by crnipeter

alcstradamus

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours brown with a half finger of head and no lacing.

The aroma is an extremely appealing punch of raisins and some spiciness. The alcohol is definitely noticeable yet welcome. This is just such a nice dark fruit smell, I can't barely take my nose out of the glass. There is some tropical hoppiness, clove, and acetone but in very small doses.

The flavor isn't quite as solid as the nose upon first sip, but still tastes good. The dark fruitiness isn't as sharp as I was expecting...rather, it sits in the background providing some complexity underneath a musty/waxy/rye bread mix. Alcohol is barely noticeable. As warming ensues, it gets progressively more balanced and flavorful. The cold did this one no good. Extremely tasty, I was craving another bottle the next day.

The body is medium and carbonation is appropriate for the style. Seemed light at first, but after sitting out for a bit it got heavier.

This one drinks very nicely for the ABV. I wouldn't say that I am blown away by this, but it still is a very good quad that improves consistently with each degree that it warms. This is also very young and I hate to judge this style based on a fresh bottle, but that is all I have right now.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2010 04:44:29 | More by alcstradamus