St. Bernardus Abt 12 Special Edition
The St. Bernardus Abt 12 is recognized as one of the best ales in the world. For the occasion of our 60th anniversary, our brewmaster Bert Van Hecke created a unique and special variety of the St. Bernardus Abt 12. This "Special Edition" contains hops from Poperinge: Challenger and Golding, and has been brewed with black, amber, munich and pale ale malts.
4.1
578 reviews
Watou, Belgium
Community reviews
Bottle. Thanks Homer!
A: Mahogany body with a drifting creme head. Legs.
N: Raisin, prune, toffee, rye bread, peppercorn, damp leaves, biscuit, some fig. Toast. Light
T: Sweet and a touch bitter.
M: Medium body, creamy carbonation, no alcohol.
O: Excellent beer. Aging great. Bready and delicious.
Muddy Sedona red with a tightly packed cream head that left a spattering of sudsy, soapy lacing. Loads of plum, brown sugar, flaky pie crust and honey-baked biscuit. Invisible ABV makes this dangerously drinkable! Yum!
corked and caged bottle. Another oldie but goodie pulled from the back of my fridge. took forever to get the cork off. pours brown with an inch of khaki foam. I’m surprised how long the head is staying around for. lots of lacing in the glass. more malty than anything on the nose. very smooth on the tongue. Hides it’s 11% very well. I can’t say there’s a lot of rich and robust flavor going on but it’s still very drinkable which makes it very dangerous. another solid beer from St. Bernardus.
Bottle thanks to homer321! Apperance is muddy brown with frothy white head. Aroma, wow, sherry, bread, rasins, cherry, and caramel. Taste is dark fruit, sweet caramel, with a smooth toffee like finish. This is pretty old now I guess (bottled in 2006) and it certainly shows in both aroma and taste, very tasty though. Very happy I finally tried this.
Bottle to chalice
Caramel, molasses, vanilla, basil. Dark cloudy brown, thin creamy head. Taste is caramel with lots of malts.
Bottle at James’ for a tasting with Ferris and Kraddel. Pours a hazed brown amber with a thin beige head. Big malt and sweet candied fruit. Malt and spice, warm malt. Candied malt, a bit of caramel. Sweet and tasty.
Etched glass bottle. Pours dark brown tan head. Nose/taste of oak, caramel, toffee, dark fruit and dark sugar. Full body.
Bottle - Raisin, plum and rich dark sugars. Cleanish copper brown with a decent beige head. Tastes as it smells, with a nice malty sugary base and finish. Quite nice,
Bottle. Brown pour with tan head. Sweet fruited malt aromas, very Belgian. Super sweet malt, some spice and candy tones.
Pours rather unclear brown . Small white head . Smell is sweet, dark sugar, yeast . Taste is sweet, dark sugar . Candy sugar to be more specific . less yeasty than the regular and more sweet . OK though
From notes. Tasted on 9/2/12 from a corked and caged 750mL bottle, big thanks to Curtis for sharing. Pours clear dark amber with a thick beige head that leaves fairly thick lace. The nose is caramel, toffee, golden raisin, brown sugar, vinous heat, along with just a touch of menthol and baking spice. The flavor is nearly perfectly balanced, the best quad I have ever had, with really great caramel, lightly burnt toffee, brown sugar, vinous, hot golden raisin, and light baking spice on the back. The body is full with just below average carbonation and a long lightly bitter toffee, vinous, and touch of spice finish.
750ml bottle: Finally popped the cork on this one. Got a fairly loud "pop", but it didn’t foam over. It pours a fairly opaque mahogany brown color. There was just a bit of a tan head that settles into a thin film and leaves some lacing. It has a good nose. Some dark fruits in there, as well a some faint cherries. Lots of malts, maybe some vanilla, toffee, there is lots going on here. Very smooth tasting. Absolutely no taste of alcohol, even though it is 11%. Malty, dark fruits, with a very subdued sweetness. Very complex. This is just excellent. I wish I had a few more of these!
10/10/2014: St. Bernardes Abt 12 Special Edition... Ruby brown color with an off-white crown. Aroma has a touch of oxidation but has plenty of caramel, fruity, cherry, black mission fig, dates, a bit of alcohol. The flavor tracks with the aroma with a bit more oxidation and alcohol coming through. Flavors include cherry, fig, dried fruits (raisin, date, plum), vanilla, dry oak. Medium-bodied, a touch chewy, very nice. This is a great beer. Is it better than the Westvleteren 12? Probably not, but it is close. This beer aged quite well, but probably not worth the time to do so. St. B Abt 12 is a great beer and is amazing any time, any where. 750 mL corked and caged bottle circa 2006 in a tin from Dilly Deli in Mariemont, Ohio.
"lots of dark fruits and brown sugar in the aroma and flavor. perhaps a tad more assertive than the regular St B 12. I like it a tiny bit better for the simple fact that it’s not over carbonated, as i think the 12 usually is. maybe the age? i dunno. solid malty complex goodness, with the hops and yeasty dryness making a brief appearance at the end."
APPEARANCE - Opaque dark brown ale with a 2-finger light brown head that dissipates after awhile. Lacing is more a foamy film.
SMELL/AROMA/SCENT - Smoky, piney, sweet, a little citrus.
TASTE - Stout-like, smooth, not that smoky, herbaceous. ABV hidden by strong flavor.
MOUTHFEEL/PALATE/TEXTURE - Smooth, a bit of a creamy head. A little carbonation.
OVERALL/DRINKABILITY - I prefer the lighter quads over this, but it’s a good drink nonetheless. Definitely quaffable.
750 ml bottle from notes. Pours a deep cloudy reddish brown with a large off white head. The nose has molasses, prunes, ripe plum, toffee, brown sugar, and raisins. The flavor is mostly sweet caramel malts, brown sugar with raisin and plum. Some spicy hops add character. The mouth feel was a bit thinner than expected but not watery. The finish had some alcohol to it. I really enjoyed this, though I don’t think there was much difference from the regular version.
From a 75 cl bottle shared at home. Pours a cloudy cola brown with a thick but quickly receding tan head. Aroma of dark fruits. Flavors of caramel, plums, dark cherries and butterscotch,. Smooth, slightly boozy finish.
750 ml bottle pour. The cork was a son of a bitch to get out. Still carbonated. Pours a hazy brown color. More hazy than a fresh bottle we had side by side. The aroma is more caramel and toffee and dark fruits. Smells like an awesome aged beer. It’s held up marvelously. The taste is sweet caramels and dark fruits. Thick, chewy mouthfeel with soft, velvety carbonation. This is just an awesome beer!
bottle, cagd & corked. comes in a tin bottle holder. brownish, slightly muddied pour, lots of raisins, dark dried fruits, figs, plums. cararmel maltiness. i think i waited a bit too long as this seemed on the downward spiral
Alleen al om de mooie fles de moeite waard om te kopen. Afbeelding op de site klopt helaas niet. Maar daar gaat het uiteraard niet om. De smaak van dit bier overtreft alles. Dit is Westvleteren zoals het heel vroeger gebrouwen werd. Het is maar bij weinigen bekend maar toen Westvleteren besloot om binnen de eigen muren te gaan brouwen hebben ze de gistsoort licht veranderd.
Bottle. Brown pour with an off white head. Sweet malty aromas. Smooth and sweet with tasty caramel malts, brown sugar, and dark fruit notes. Just the slightest hint of oxidation. Good body and mouthfeel. Big tip of the cap to Bu11zeye for hooking me up with this one.....
Bottle share courtesy of Homer321. Dark brown pour with medium thick off-white head. Aroma of brown sugar and carmel. Lots of caramel flavor, very chewy and a little flat but very enjoyable.
bottle I bought at Knightly Spirits more than a few yeard ago. pous a light brown with garnett highlights. initially a moderate head, off white, but fades quickly. moderate lacing. nose is lightly dusty like munich malt. soft fruits. no alcohol in nose. initial taste is sweet but dries out very quickly. leaves a fruity taste, like a fruit roll up without all the sugar. a little alcohol warming after the finish, but all smooth. wow, for an old rotting beer, this sure tastes good.
One of my favorite beers...nothing negative to say about this beer...if you like strong go with thr abt 12
I’ve been sitting on this one forever, today’s the day. Spicy yeasty notes on nose. Dark brown color and good lace, this is clearly a big boy beer. Cane sugar on the palate, with the small amount of booze too
2010 rating. Appears slightly hazy dark reddish brown. Smell is candy sugar, rich malt and dark fruit. Taste follows the nose. It is smooth and elegant.
Bottle shared at Chad’s birthday. Hazy, brown pour with a white head. Aroma is grapes, plums, alcohol, and vanilla. Taste is yeast, dark fruit, alcohol, and a little chocolate. Great finish.
Dunkel hefiger Antrunk, leichte Röstigkeit. Würzig, trocken, geringe Röstigkeit. Brotig, rund, gut. 11/11/11/13/12/12
Drank at thirdeye11’s birthday party. Thanks to jjfoodie for sharing.
The beer pours a brown color with a small head. The aroma is fairly sweet with a good dose of brown sugar, raisins and caramel malt. The flavor is more of the same. The caramel malt and candy sugar sweetness are very nice. I also get a little bit of dark fruit - mainly raisins with a bit of cherry - as well as well as just a little bit of alcohol. Very nice and very glad I got to try it.
Bottle shared in Chicago, poured a dark brown color, aromas of yeast, dark pitted fruit, dates, rasins, and some light leather. Flavors are the same, medium carbonation, the flavors were nice, and balanced. Didn’t taste like the abv suggested it would be, a real nice beer overall.