Friday, May 21, 2010

St. Bernardus Abt 12 60th Anniversary Special Edition



Belgian Quadrupel - 11% abv
Watou, Belgium

25.4oz dark brown bottle. Best before 03/05/11.

Pours a lovely ruby-hued mahogany with a big fluffy, slow-fading beige head and lots of sticky and patchy lacing.

The first smell out of the gate is cow barn-like (not in a bad way) with a nice dark rum background. Smells of hay, cloves, pepper, orange zest and hops all vie for attention.

The deep malt body is home to a wide range of tastes. Sweet caramel, rye toast, honey and brown bread are upfront.

The big maltiness is balanced nicely with a tart lemon zest bitterness and a faint metallic tang. Tastes of bitter oranges, spicy cloves, rum-soaked raisins and candi sugars are all quite active. A dose of white rum provides some alcohol kick and fuminess.

This is a well-made brew. I look forward to reviewing it in a year.