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

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100
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3,028 Ratings

THE BROS
94
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rAvg: 4.64
pDev: 8.62%
Reviews: 1486
Hads: 1542

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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

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Reviews by kevanb:

kevanb

Illinois

4.73/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This bottle, dated 20.5.14, was bottled on May 20, 2011 as the dating looks 3 years out and is a freshness guide, although let's face it, a quad of this quality can age gracefully for decades. Westy 12 pours a fantastic burgundy brown with nice hints of light amber and caramel brown. A nice big 3 finger tannish, bone colored head sits atop the beer that has pretty decent retention, leaves behind a lot of film atop the beer and around the glass, but also yields a fair amount of soapy lacing. The aroma is wonderful, lots of tart dark fruit, cherries, plums, some prune, that is balanced with some caramel sweetness that also brings out some brown sugar and a bit of the alcohol, but in a nice smooth way rather than something more abrasive and hot. Lastly, there is a great amount of that famous Belgian yeast in the nose that really ties everything together. The flavors are exceptionally complex, nice raisiny start that gets very bready right away, the yeast really comes out and with it, come a variety of wonderful flavors. Tart notes of cherry, plum and dark grape, some smokey tobacco and leathery flavors, some brown sugar, alcohol and caramel also come around at the end that gives the beer a nice smooth sweet finish. Every sip yields more flavor, more complexity and enhances the overall experience. The body is great, higher than expected carbonation, but still big, thick, and smooth, yet finishes quite dry.

Verdict: Simply sublime. I may not consider it the best beer in the world, but it has earned its reputation as one everyone should make a point to try in their lifetime. The flavors are balanced so well and have seemingly endless complexity, definitely worth the effort to get.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 03:44:08 | More by kevanb

More User Reviews:

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