St. Bernardus Prior 8 - Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV

bnes09

Illinois

4.53/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Deep caramel color, thick and murky looking. Lots of bubbles. Big head on the pour with lots of lacing.

Brilliant aroma of hot caramel, brown sugar, figs and dates. Mild ginger herb. Overall sweet, dark, luscious and inviting.

Dark fruit flavors are prominent complimenting the aroma. Lots of brown sugar sweetness. Hops add a subtle spice. Black pepper and spinach leaves. Hint of Belgian yeast rounds out the flavors in a satisfying finish.

Medium bodied with plenty of malt and yeast textures. Just the right amount of carbonation to bring the complexities to my palate.

Overall a superb example of a dubbel. Highly complex and very well rounded.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 01:05:04 | More by bnes09

ChrisKayler

Virginia

4.45/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Glass: Bell's Belgian style snifter.

Appearance: Beautiful. Dark ruby-crown in color, hazy with lots of small sediment uniformly floating throughout. Two fingers of khaki colored head resulted from a moderate pour which stuck around long after the pour.

Smell: A bit of funkiness, some banana, wheat, dark fruits, Candi sugar. Almost smells like a dark witbier or hefeweizen, without as much banana. Mmm!

Taste: This one is much less sweet than the Rochefort 8, and I like that as far as drinkability is concerned. Initial taste is kind of funky and maybe even a bit metallic ... similar to a witbier like Allagash White. However, things quickly change from there with bananas coming through as well as a little bit of dark fruit and candi sugar. My favorite part is after the taste has worn off and you exhale. Only then, does a strong taste of vanilla come through.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with high carbonation (a little too much, for me). Pretty refreshing. Dry finish, though a little sticky.

Overall: Like a dark hefeweizen with great sweet Belgian candi sugar, spices, and vanilla thrown in. A great beer that is not necessarily the easiest to drink, nor something that I would want to have all the time. However, I will definitely revisit this one in the future.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 03:35:10 | More by ChrisKayler

JoshFrierson86

Arkansas

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-16-2013 12:22:33 | More by JoshFrierson86

EROCK75

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-13-2013 15:19:24 | More by EROCK75

Knuckles_Nuclear

Missouri

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-12-2013 22:05:02 | More by Knuckles_Nuclear

themilkman87

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

05-12-2013 06:55:49 | More by themilkman87

SDG1070

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-11-2013 22:55:52 | More by SDG1070

Bikeboy1

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +13.9%

05-11-2013 02:26:14 | More by Bikeboy1

twenty5

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

05-10-2013 16:12:26 | More by twenty5

jdawg80

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-10-2013 14:08:36 | More by jdawg80

Ivegotmule

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -4.1%

05-08-2013 00:24:41 | More by Ivegotmule

Stugotzo

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-07-2013 21:26:57 | More by Stugotzo

crosenkrantz

Switzerland

3/5  rDev -28.1%

05-05-2013 12:29:19 | More by crosenkrantz

capnamerica

Arkansas

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-05-2013 01:56:43 | More by capnamerica

Sunnanek

Sweden

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-04-2013 19:12:32 | More by Sunnanek

ironyisoverrated

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -16.1%

05-03-2013 22:23:26 | More by ironyisoverrated

hopsputin

California

4.31/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

poured into a st. bernardus chalice

a: a mixture of dark brown and ruby red. 2.5 finger white/tan head that fades pretty quick. gushed out of bottle when opened it.

s: dark fruits - cherries, plums, raisins. a nice sweet malty aroma backed by chewy dough smell. a little diacetyl

t: cherries, fig, plum, raisins, hint of alcohol. all of this is surrounded by a nice bread/dough taste followed by sweet malt and some slight spice (maybe clove/pepper). theres something almost like a cola on the backend

m: the carbonation in this beer puts the mouthfeel on the fuller side of medium and the taste sticks in your mouth for a while.

o: i prefer the Abt 12 (duh) but don't enjoy this. i would have liked the sweet dark fruit to be a little more prominent, but not a huge deal as its a dubble. also, there might be just a touch too much alcohol in the flavor for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 04:20:00 | More by hopsputin

JSchock7

Kansas

4/5  rDev -4.1%

04-28-2013 20:03:04 | More by JSchock7

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A - Just shy of two fingers worth of densely packed crisp slightly creamy and lush light khaki colored head with a bit of an audible fizziness... Excellent retention... The color is a slightly murky medium brown color with a faint cranberry hue... Some small bubbled moderate paced carbonation can be seen climbing along the sides of the glass towards the top... A bit of lacing clings to the glass... A very nice looking offering...

S - Bursting with dark fruits... Fig... Plums... Raisins... Black berries... A hint of brown sugar... A very subtle Belgian yeast component... Spot on the for the style and rather satisfying...

T - Near identical to the aroma where the dark fruit dominates, but with the addition of tobacco leaves... A slight bit of toffee as well...

M - On the fuller side of medium bodied... Sturdy... A bit chewy... Slightly lush... Each sip goes down easily... Light yet sharp carbonation...

D - Lives up to high standards of other St. Bernardus offerings... A rock solid Dubbel... Just a notch down from my favorites in the style category... Easy drinking and highly enjoyable... I can recommend without hesitation and would gladly drink again myself in the future...

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 02:18:14 | More by philbe311

BrewmanCapote

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

04-28-2013 01:26:52 | More by BrewmanCapote

mre0683

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

04-23-2013 03:13:50 | More by mre0683

rfgetz

Pennsylvania

4.21/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Dark brown in color with some chestnut highlights when it catches the light, big frothy and dense tan head, swirls of lacing. Strong notes of yeast and caramel, notes of spice, dark fruit, molasses, dark bread, nuts, alcohol. Not as deep and complex as the nose, bread, caramel and sugar make up the malt profile, yeasty spice, fruit. Medium bodied. Solid all around.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 14:21:28 | More by rfgetz

BierMeJohn

Germany

4/5  rDev -4.1%

04-21-2013 12:02:30 | More by BierMeJohn

fionn13

Ireland

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

04-19-2013 19:41:35 | More by fionn13

Casey3236

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

04-19-2013 00:52:13 | More by Casey3236