St. Bernardus Prior 8 - Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV

brewsclues

Pennsylvania

4.61/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

St. Bernie 8 - 750ml bottle.

Beautiful amber brown with a huge head that stayed for about 2 hours.

Nose is awesome: tons of citrus and floral hints, rounded out by soft ripe fruits. Pears, apricots, bread, and clove/cinnamon spice.

Taste: Out of control good. I love the big, bold esters, the pear/apricot hints, and the silky-smooth caramel/light molasses malt backbone. But a ton of the sour fruit feel, which balances the malts well. Actually, there is a lot more of the sour-Flemish feel to it than I was expecting. Gives it a slight, puckering bite.

Mouthfeel: a little bit lighter than I was expecting. Not thin, but a sessionable Dubbel. Quite (and unexpectedly) dry.

Overall: Ahh, St. Bernie. You done good. Real good. I'd reach for this in almost any situation, place, mood, weather, or company.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2013 05:17:36 | More by brewsclues

gfx

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

05-25-2013 04:44:14 | More by gfx

Dirksen

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-24-2013 19:23:40 | More by Dirksen

desint

Belgium

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%

05-24-2013 11:03:17 | More by desint

jroberts8811

Missouri

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-23-2013 12:57:16 | More by jroberts8811

johntfox

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%

05-21-2013 00:55:43 | More by johntfox

Blindpigbiz

California

3.98/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Style/abv: dubbel/8%

Smell: chocolate and peanut butter with slight smokiness

Taste: very clean with subtle milk chocolate notes, nuts, peanut butter, and mild effervescence; it also has a minute malty character throughout

Pairs well with dark meat sandwiches and smoked sausages--and bacon, lots of bacon

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 21:49:05 | More by Blindpigbiz

swetsastonic

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%

05-19-2013 18:46:51 | More by swetsastonic

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