Trappist Westvleteren 12 (XII) - Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren)

Displayed for educational use only; do not reuse.

BA SCORE
100
world-class
-
3,033 Ratings

THE BROS
94
exceptional
-
read more »

rAvg: 4.64
pDev: 8.62%
Reviews: 1486
Hads: 1547

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren)

Belgium

Style | ABV
Quadrupel (Quad) | 10.20% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (1482), on-tap (3), nitro-bottle (1).

Notes:
(Yellow Cap)

View: Beers (3) | Events (0)

Reviews

Sort by: Latest | High | Low | Top Reviewers |

Alström Bros | Show Hads:

« first ‹ prev | 1-25 | 26-50 | 51-75 | next › last »

Reviews by KickInTheChalice:

KickInTheChalice

Illinois

4.3/5 rDev -7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 33 cl botlte into a Westvleteren chalice. There is no more recognizable unmarked bottle in all the land. Best by 09.03.12.

My pour has a dark caramel brown color with a slight ruby tint, mostly opaque but transparent in the edges. Only a small off-white cap forms on the inital pour, and this fades to a few spotty islands remain, along with a fair amount of particulate, even with a gentle pour.

The aroma is full, deep, and smooth. Brown sugar, toasted bread, caramel, raisins, figs, plums, cinnamon, Belgian yeasty spice all combine to form a nuanced and complex aroma.

Especially as it warms up, the flavor is pretty fantastic. Brown sugar blends with toasted bread, caramel, and some nutmeg, cinnamon and general yeasty spice. Raisins, plums, and dark cherries come in as the body turns from medium / full to medium / light. Right at the end, just a bit of ethyl alcohol comes in, along with some red wine vinegar acidity. The carbonation starts on the light side, and it is practically flat by the time the beer is through. It is creamy and smooth, while still a bit grainy. Medium to full body.

While there was no way for this beer to live up to the "best beer ever," I thoroughly enjoyed the anticipation leading up to my first experience, and the beer itself was quite good as well.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2012 05:56:00 | More by KickInTheChalice

More User Reviews:

Abrengle

Washington

5/5 rDev +7.8%

05-23-2013 01:29:45 | More by Abrengle

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

4.5/5 rDev -3%

05-23-2013 01:29:11 | More by mikeincharleston

Mattias

Sweden

3.5/5 rDev -24.6%

05-22-2013 20:10:19 | More by Mattias

grover37

District of Columbia

4.25/5 rDev -8.4%

05-22-2013 04:19:12 | More by grover37

zonker17

Illinois

4.75/5 rDev +2.4%

05-22-2013 03:43:32 | More by zonker17

CosmoHopHead

Kansas

4.25/5 rDev -8.4%

05-21-2013 03:59:45 | More by CosmoHopHead

CraftEyeDoc

North Carolina

4.5/5 rDev -3%

05-21-2013 02:34:38 | More by CraftEyeDoc

Thedrizzle

Florida

5/5 rDev +7.8%

05-21-2013 02:14:26 | More by Thedrizzle

adhallick

Manitoba (Canada)

5/5 rDev +7.8%

05-21-2013 01:02:17 | More by adhallick

DoubleJ

California

4.41/5 rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

This has been a long time coming. I had a small taste of it years back, but having a taste is not the same as having an entire bottle to yourself. It also isn't the same as being in the cafe across the street of the monastery and having it served properly in its own chalice. The main event is here. On to the beer:

A large rocky head sits on top of this dark, creamy brown colored beer. It retains well and leaves reasonable lace around. The aroma is...not as intense as expected. It features notes of plum, chocolate, and pudding, however I needed to dig deep to find this subtle, lovely notes.

The flavor puts this beer on track. The flavor is as intense as I thought and does feel more so than the 8. Ironincally, soft yeasty fruit hits first, followed by figs, a peppery biterness, pudding, and dark chocolate. Very deep in flavor, and the full creamy body of the beer suits the beer very well. Yum yum yum!

On its own, Westvleteren 12 is an excellent beer. If you're not at In de Vrede, it's a bit of work to track down a bottle, even at bottle shops in Brussels! Everyone shoud try this beer at least once.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 23:52:06 | More by DoubleJ