[1] Review by Timmyk77 from Overland Park, KS, USA who has tried this beer once. (3/12/2008 10:00:57 PM)
"From a bottle. Pours a cloudy brown with a thick tan head. Sweet aroma with fruit undertones. Flavor is mellow and well balanced. Slight alcohol burn at the end. Definitely a great beer. Would love to try it fresh at the Abbey. HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to Dansting for scoring this bottle for me. Best Christmas gift I got, no doubt!"
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
9/10
Mouthfeel:
9/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.5)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[2] Review by Dansting from Overland Park, KS, USA who has tried this beer once. (2/22/2008 10:41:47 PM)
"Bottle. Pours a cloudy purplish-brown color with a thick, almond head. Strong lacing. Aroma is fruity (raisins, perhaps) with a nice bit of the Belgian yeast to it. Mouthfeel is smooth and full. Flavor is very complex. It's hard to put a finger on it. There's some caramel, apricot, alcohol, and some toffee to it. Maybe not the best beer I've ever had, but it's right up there."
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
10/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
10/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.8)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[3] Review by yngwie from Kristiansand, Norway who has tried this beer many times. (12/27/2007 7:24:06 AM)
"Bottled. I’ve waited quite patiently for this one. It has been in my cellar since september. Now, as I am to open it, I am a little bit nervous. It’s not my virgin-sample of a Westy 12, I’ve had it two or three times before, I am just nervous that it might be bad in any way, or that I might get disappointed. After all, my taste-buds has evolved a little since my first rating. It has a BB date of 28.02.08, so it is ok in that way, hope it is in any other way too. Well, off goes the cap. The first aroma is very vinous and oaked. Then, when it’s poured, black currant, caramel, dried fruits, light alcohol, spices and a light yeastiness comes through. You don’t get it much more complex than this. It looks gorgeous, dark reddish-brown and sparkling, and with some sediments if you prefer that. It has probably the most dense, lasting head that I’ve seen so far, beige in color, and huge. The flavor is rich, with caramel, candi-sweetness, malt, spices, bitterness, cherry and alcohol. Too much alcohol, I think. There are lots of other beers masking the 10% ABV much better, but it is not an unpleasant alcohol-level. The body is full and it has a sweet and bitter finish that is quite long. The flavor and finish is rounded of as the beer warms up, and my starting temperature of 10°C was too cold, especially for the finish to step forward. It turned out I had no reason to be nervous, but I expected that I could give it a higher score. A beer that matches aroma and flavor even better will hopefully come my way some day, and then maybe the perfect 5 will be given. (060306)"
Aroma:
10/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.5)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 12oz @ $11 Unit Cost: $14.67 per Pint
[4] Review by PaulCardom from Stittsville, Ontario, Canada who has tried this beer once. (12/22/2007 2:20:24 PM)
"The so-called Holy Grail of brews. I'm not sure it's as good as their cousin's abbey quadrupel down the street at Brouwerij St. Bernard, nonetheless, it's a mighty fine brew worthy of the acclaim it's been accorded. An excellent sampling of the finest trappist ales one can buy (even if you have to jump on a plane and go to a conference in Belgium to get some)."
Aroma:
10/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
10/10
Flavor:
10/10
Overall:
10/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(5)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[5] Review by Jonpol from Beer Cooler, AZ, USA who has tried this beer a couple times. (12/5/2007 11:46:06 AM)
"My bottle stated 11.2 ABV. Pours dark tawny mahogany w/ a medium sized semi creamy tan froth. Froth is spattered w/ tiny bubbles and reduces slowly to a fine lace and a dusty canopy. Aromas of bright, dusty, dried dark fruits w/ slight tart cherry (jolly rancher). Medium nectar w/ ample residual effers creats a creamy, velvety texture. I think the palate texture of this brew is what sets it apart. It’s amazing that an ale can feel like that. Flavors are bold w/ a mild to moderate sweetness that is quickly balanced by a peach pit bittering componant. My first sip was pure bakers cocoa. Dark, bitter and chocolatey. Very nice! There is a defined alcohol presence in the flavor profile that really kicks in on the finish. This is not offensive to me at all. Dried dark fruits like black cherry, plumb, w/ slight fig and raisons. Meaty tropshire like a well marbled Porter House steak and leather. Other nuances of chewing tobacco and dark cakebread, bakers cocoa, molasses, red grapes w/ the seeds, and caramel apple. The Cocoa lasts throughout the whole sip to the finish. This is a very warming brew. I can feel my blood temp rising in my face about my ears. The finish is bittered better than moderate with that huge alcohol goins’ ons’. Finishes w/ velety hops that linger well past midnight. Overall: this is a complex brew worthy of its reputation."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
10/10
Flavor:
10/10
Overall:
10/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.8)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 330ml @ $15 Unit Cost: $21.51 per Pint
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(4.5)
