St Bernardus Abt 12 | ZE Beer Review

St. Bernardus is the brewery that at one time had the contract to brew for Westvleteren. My understanding is that this beer is about as close as you can get to Westy 12 without actually drinking Westy 12.

I'd had this before, but not for a couple of years, and I believe this bottle was fresher than the bottles I'd had in the past. In any case, this was a really great experience and I think that shows on camera.

Zymurgical Explorations grade: A+

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• beer
• review
• craft
• St.
• Bernardus
• Westvleteren
• Belgian
• Ale
• quad
• quardupel
• Belgium
• Watou
• Bell's
• Batch
• 10000
• Moosbacher
• Schwarz-Weisse

[iRLadyKi113r]

"that is a fucking quad what that is!" haha love it. amazing beer one of the best beers ever.

[TheEndosymbiosis]

@iRLadyKi113r It's in my top-five favorites ever. I keep wanting to buy another bottle but I seem to always have review stuff to buy instead.

[heelhook80]

I have a 750ml bottle of this in the fridge. I'm going to save it until April 30th and drink it while I watch UFC 129. I usually think Belgians are overrated but I'm starting to try more, I find myself focusing more on the taste from the yeast the more I get into beer, hefeweizen yeast, farmhouse ales, bier de gardes, etc. The yeast is key. Good review man.

[TheEndosymbiosis]

@heelhook80 Thanks. I'm a big fan of Belgians and I think this one is one of my all-time favorites. Cheers!

[HS81]

Besides Karmeliet this is a beer a drink every week atleast once, being Belgian sometimes has its benefits

[HighlandBerserkr]

I have. 750ml bottle, I will be trying it for the first this weekend, I Also have a smaller bottle of it and a Rochefort 10 I will be cellaring, great review can't wait to try it.

[TheEndosymbiosis]

@TheAlmightyFSM Thanks. I'll probably shoot the Westy review tomorrow and put it up on Christmas. I'll take your advice. Cheers!

[TheAlmightyFSM]

@TheEndosymbiosis The 12 is better with some age on it anyhow. The best Westy I ever drank was a 5 year old bottle that I got in Amsterdam (for 23 euros, yikes).

Belgium is a beautiful country to drive through, and being able to drink several 12's back to back is very liberating, but it's not absolutely necessary to get the full experience of the beer.

Just have your glass ready and don't tilt the goblet when you pour, that's my only advice, the reasons can go unsaid I think, haha.

[TheAlmightyFSM]

@TheEndosymbiosis He also doesn't know the difference between a Lambic and wine cooler, but that's beside the point.

[TheEndosymbiosis]

@TheAlmightyFSM I loved this bottle of St. Bernardus. I've got a 2-year old bottle of Westy that I'm planning on doing as a Christmas review. I'd love to get to Belgium and try them both fresh sometime, but that's likely to be a distant dream for me for a good while.