Look: 4.75 / 5 | Smell: 4.75 / 5 | Taste: 5 / 5 | Feel: 5 / 5 | Overall: 4.9 / 5
L: The 12 has a reddish/brown hue and pours a white/tan head.
S: It has the beautiful fruity smell typical of Westvleteren beers. Sweet dark fruits hit the nose first. Like the 8, the esters really shine through. It’s reminiscent of old fashioned bubble gum, the kind you find at a baseball game. It’s full of bread aromas, like fresh rye. Lastly, caramel and toffee mixes in with all these scents to make this drink smell more like a dessert than a beer.
T: The sharp dark fruit bite is at the forefront and is pleasantly though slightly bitter. Like the smell, the taste of the beer is more comparable to a desert cake than a beer. Dates, raisins, brown sugar, toffee, and clove all mix together to attempt to veil the alcohol. The bready malts form a good base to the beer, reigning in, and complementing all the other aspects.
F: Deep, satisfying mouthfeel that matches the 10.2% ABV without the harsh aftertaste.
O: This is a truly beautiful beer. The pleasant dark fruit bite reminds me of the Westmalle dubbel, which isn’t surprising considering they share the same yeast. It earns its title as one of the greatest beers in the world, if not the greatest.
Beer Basics:
Brewed by:
Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren)
Belgium
Style | ABV
Quadrupel (Quad) | 10.20% ABV
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