Thursday, January 10, 2013

Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV Abt 12


Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV Abt 12. 

From the St.Bernardus website:” The St.Bernardus Abt 12 is the pride of our stable, the nec plus ultra of our brewery. Abbey ale brewed in the classic 'Quadrupel' style of Belgium's best Abbey Ales. Dark with a full, ivory-colored head. It has a fruity aroma, full of complex flavours and excels because of its long bittersweet finish with a hoppy bite. (10.0% ABV) Worldwide seen as one of the best beers in the world. It's a very balanced beer, with a full-bodied taste and a perfect equilibrium between malty, bitter and sweet. One of the original recipes from the days of license-brewing for the Trappist monks of Westvleteren (see history)”.
Let’s get started!
Appearance: Pours a reddish brown with a huge off-white head and nice lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruits, banana, Belgian yeast and candi sugar, brown sugar, molasses, spices, bready malts, cocoa and honey.
Taste: Dark fruits, sweet caramel and roasted malts, banana, Belgian yeast and candi sugar, citrus, chocolate, molasses and spices.  There’s so much going on with this one I could probably keep writing about all of the flavors hitting my palate!
Overall: I now understand the hype about St.Bernardus Abt 12.  This 10% ABV Belgian Quadrupel is astounding.  Highly drinkable, the alcohol is barely detectible.  I recommend picking some up and trying this one for yourself.  This really is one of the finest beers around.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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