Beer – #867 – St. Bernardus – Abt 12
St. Bernardus Abt 12. I’m not finishing the afternoon without the beer I thought I was going to have. :). Tiny bottle with a big punch.
a full-bodied taste and a perfect equilibrium
This is a 330 ml bottle, a beer that is 10% ABV, making it 300 calories, and this would be the same as 2.6 standard drink units and it has 22 IBU
Brewed by St. Bernardus Brouwerij in the unmistakable style that is Abt/Quadrupel and that happing Watou, Belgium
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.
I live a Monks Life
Dark with a full, ivory-colored head. It has a fruity aroma, full of complex flavours and excells because of its long bittersweet finish with a hoppy bite.
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
So, What could possibly go wrong?
Over 4000 ratings this still hits 10/10 on one of the beer rating things that of course I look at, on the other 4.11, which is quite a gap. I’ll call it as I see it.
That is a wine like aroma on opening, than it moves to an overly yeasty one, like warm yeast.
Pour is kind a muddy red wine, brown orange, almost flat beer.
It’s soft drinking beer, the lower 22 IBU brings me a softer smoother beer on the tongue and over the palate which is always welcome. There’s not a hint of the alcohol either, they’ve become quite food at this I suppose and you don’t get a tang or a sharpness in this.
It isn’t as full in the mouth, but it is full of a great flavour, a beer to sip large and let it wash around in the mouth, which sounds quite foul be honest, I don’t mean gargle.
I don’t think this is the best beer I’ve had, I don’t think it’s a 10, I like it, but I’d like it more if it was richer and fuller in the mouth, and didn’t look quite as murky in the glass. It is nice though the rich fruit things are present and the alcohol tang isn’t and that’s always a bit of a winner.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 of its things from the thing. Easy as, this is very good, although it is let down on the seeming lack of carbonation which results in it looking flat and muddy in the glass. I thought the rich fruit things would be dialled up more, however it’s a cracking beer that I’d not be shy in drinking again if it came up somewhere.
The double dip review
- Where did I get it? Liquorland in Forrest Hill
- Am I enjoying it? I am, I’m back on track
- Would I have another? I would, but you know there are many beers to drink. If you’re being though bring it on.
- Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? Of course, just because the disparity of one app over another would lead you to think that this is somehow a beer for the fans.
Music for this: ” The Wind and the Wave ” with ” Happiness is not a Place” on Spotfiy
Dwight A. Baker and Patricia Lynn, The Wind and The Wave respectively,
ABT/QUADRUPEL
Abt, or quadrupel, is the name given to ultra-strong Trappist and abbey ales. The name Abt was pioneered to describe Westvleteren and the beer that would become St. Bernardus. Quadrupel was pioneered by La Trappe. Abts are the darker of the two, with more rich, deep fruity notes. Quads are paler, with corresponding peachy notes. Neither have much in the way of hop, and both are very strong and malty. Though both are bottle-conditioned, abts trend more towards yeastiness. Alcohol is very high (10+% abv) for both.
A life just as ordinary 