Day 35: 02.04.10 St. Bernardus Abt. 12

Brewerij St. Bernardus NV

Village of Watou
Province of West Flanders, Belgium


Style: Quadrupel
Availability: Year Round
Format: 750ml, 330ml - 4pk
ABV: 10.5%


Bottle text & Info:

Water, pumped up from a depth of 150 meter is the basis of all St. Bernardus beers. This water is not only the purest but has also a historical background. Scientists have proved that the water that is pumped up now, is originating from rainfall from the time of Jeanne d’Arc. The water seeped to Watou through a pervious stratum of sand from the St. Omer area in France. After brewing, the beer is maturing in a natural way and subsequently bottled unfiltered. By adding sugar and yeast, the beer gets a second fermentation in the bottle, carbonating the beer in a natural way. This gives the beer a beautiful and large froth. Abt 12 is the absolute top quality in the hierarchy of the St. Bernardus beers. It is also the beer with the highest alcohol content (10.50 %).A dark ivory coloured beer with a high fermentation. The show piece of the brewery. Thanks to its soft and unconditionally genuine aroma, the beer can be smoothly tasted. The Abt has a very fruity flavour.

Tasting Notes: 
Pours a dark brown with a billowy cream colored head that froths and bubbles like some sort of cauldron elixir. Smells are those associated with belgian yeast, some clove, alcoholic esters, and soapy notes courtesy of Mr. Brettanomycies yeast. Sweet yet amazingly complex from start to finish, this is proof that a Quad doesn't have to be heavy and it doesn't have to be this hot syrupy thing. This beer is all about elegance. It has a light mouthfeel that taste full bodied, it's slick without becoming sticky. Flavor just explode from front to back. A nice caramel malt base lays down the foundation for some port like fruit flavors; currant, plum, sweet cherries followed by cane sugar ending with spicy clove. Some people will complain that the carbonation level on this is too high but for me that's what keeps so unbelievably drinkable. Hands down the best readily available Belgian Quad. For those searching for Westvleteren 12 (yellow cap), stop. Anything found in the United States got here illegally and is grey market. Have some ethics. Drink this. These abbeys have been closely associated and although this doesn't hold the prestige as the Westy, Bernardus shares the same yeast strain as Westvleteren and remains one of the worlds true beer gems.


Side note: the bottle label on the back of this label says that it is brewed in the classic "dubbel style of Belgium's best Abbey Ales." This confused me initially. After many google searches and internet explorations, I have confirmed that this is indeed a Quad. Silly monks.