St. Bernardus Prior 8
St. Bernardus Prior 8 is a traditional Abbey Ale brewed in the classic "Dubbel" style of Belgium’s Best Abbey Ales. It has a ruby to purple color, smooth, creamy richness of texture that is almost oily, and a malt-fruit complexity reminiscent of coconut. It finds the perfect balance between sweet, bitter and malty tastes. One of the original recipes from the days of license-brewing for the Trappist monks of Westvleteren.
3.8
2539 reviews
Watou, Belgium
Community reviews
From the bottle at the Guesthouse at St Bernardus in Watou. Pours clear and chestnut brown with an ivory head that fades to a collar of small bubbles and dusting over the top. Chewy bread, dark fruit and watery aroma. Flavor is similar to aroma. Slightly thin on the mouthfeel compared to the 6.
Mörk. Nästan lite kaffe smak.
Cerveja cobre escuro. Aroma doce, maltado, leve álcool e frutado. Sabor doce, caramelo, chocolate amargo.
Bought at Liquor Shed in Casper as part of a mixed 12pack. Best before July 4th 2025.
It pours a reddish brown with a good head of tannish foam. Lacing is great.
Smells malty, yeasty, Belgian spice, dark fruits.
Taste is dark pitted fruits, malty in a non sweet way, spicy...being bottled in 2020, I reckon that it does lack some vibrancy. Still, quite good.
Medium bodied, lively carbonation.
This held up way better than the Pater 6, which was bottled 2 years earlier.
Color rojizo con espuma densa. En nariz predomina la malta tostada, caramelo y toques afrutados. Equilibrio entre dulzor y amargor. Copa tipo abadía.
De color marrón, turbia, tiene espuma compacta, de burbuja fina, de color blanco. De mediana altura, un dedo. Con retención buena y de buena persistencia.
Los aromas destacan notas amaderadas, tabaco, ciruela y frutos obscuros maduros y a malta.
En boca es iniciado el sabor por una nota a madera, ciruela, tabaco, que pasa a un regusto ácido y también ligeramente amargo, pero balanceado.
Botella de dos años en guarda, probablemente por eso pudiera varía de otras catas.
Strong malty flavor, slightly fruity. Quins n chocolate. Brown bread. Pours dark ruby. Creamy, oily. Tastes like buttery sparkly bread. Fizzles too early.
Bottle. Dark red, brown foam. Dark complex sugar and roasted brioche nose. Medium body, sparkly. Wooden, light plum, sawdust, dark sugar, quick doughy finish.
Bevuta in bottiglia. Birra ambrato scura molto equilibrata. Bella schiuma. No aromi: particolari. Molto buona.
Brunatnej barwy z ładną, beżowa pianą.
W aromacie ciemne, suszone owoce, delikatna skórka od chleba.
W smaku gładkie, dosyć lekkie, dobrze ułożone.
Nice brown / ruby red with a fine pored persistent head. High carbonation. Bready and slightly fruity on the nose (plum, cherry). Good mix of strong dark malts, sweetness and hoppiness on the palate. Nice long lingering taste of the malts. Packs a punch too, but still quite drinkable and refreshing. Very good.
Found out of bottle from a store in Tarnow, Poland. Dark purple appearance with thick off-white foam. Pleasant aroma if warmed a bit. Solid option as a winter taster.
Bottle (11-7-23 on label) from Total Wine & More, Burlington. It's a clear, dark amber-ruby with nice sparkle, 3-finger width light beige head with fair retention and decent soapy lacing. Aroma is strong caramel, fig, dark fruit. Taste is strong dark fruit, fig and caramel. Mouthfeel is light side of light-to-medium bodied with thin, smooth, frothy texture, lively carbonation and crisp finish as taste. Overall, good strength of flavor and aroma but excessive carbonation overshadows the taste experience.
Servida en copa, de color marrón oscuro, bastante turbia. Espuma de color marfil, de dos dedos de grosor y buena retención. Aromas a caramelo, vino tinto, frutas y pasas. Carbonatación suave, es densa y cremosa en boca. Sabor principalmente dulce (pasas, uvas rojas, fruta madura), notas a caramelo y final amargo muy sutil, similar al café. La dejé añejar durante 3 años... Se asemeja bastante a una prior joven, con menos carbonatación y más cuerpo, y afloran las notas a vino tinto y caramelo.
33cl bottle pours a translucent caramel brown with some off white head. Nose had caramel and dates and candy sugar and some prune, clove. Flavor is a bit flat, malt and candy and marzipan, all that dried dark fruit. Finishes full bodied but pretty smooth. Some lasting spice.
Nalewa się ciemnorubinowe, wpadające w brąz, ładna gęsta, obfita, beżowa piana.
W zapachu mocno estrowo-fenolowe, banan, wiśnia, rodzynki, dojrzałe jabłko, lekko karmel.
Mocno nasycone, landrynkowe, ale nie cieliste.
W smaku dużo kermelków, banan, wiśnia guma balonowa, karmelizowane jablko, rodzynki.
Robe brun ébène intense , mousse couleur crème qui tient peu dans le verre . Fines bulles nombreuses et vive.
Nez sur le caramel ,le réglisse , le cognac, la noisette , les fruits secs ( raisin notamment ) , des notes épicées. Très jolie bouquet !
Premier bouche à nouveau sur le cognac et le caramel ( moins présent que au nez ) notes terreuse, puis note plus sur le café , le chocolat , épicé , banane bien mûre.
Liquide dense , sucré.
Final très sucré , et les épice reste en bouche.
Une bière à boire tranquillement , pour lui laissé le temps de se réchauffer on retrouve alors des arômes très intéressants.
Bière bue au bar de toone à Bruxelles, robe noire, mousse très fine, très appétissante, des notes de cognac sont présentes, c'est bon et bien réussi dans la catégorie mais trop sucré pour moi.
Bière bouteille bue chez Toone à Bruxelles. Jolie robe brune foncée. Bouche au goût intense, sucrée, sur le cognac, les fruits secs, notamment le raisin. Une bière typiquement belge et parfaitement exécutée. (M)
Schöne Optik, Malznase, schön malzig auch im Trunk, Rosinen, Cognac, nussig, hohe Drinkability, lecker.
Dark brown pour. Thin creamy foam with even lace. Nutty malty goodness with a nice malty palate.
Donkerbruin bier met een crème-kleurige stevige schuimkraag. Bier iets te koud ingeschonken waardoor het aroma wat gemaskeerd bleef. Geuren waren kruidig (kruidnagel, kaneel) en karamel. In de volle smaak zit ook nog wat van rozijnen. Lekker vol mondgevoel.
Smooth. Not gassy.
This bottle is coming from bootlegger Paris. Opening it yesterday with my wife, at home Epalinges, perfect at night to give you the stars. Best before 06/21, a subtle and powerful beer, boozy and malty, yeasty with notes of sugar, toffee, a nice touch of raspberry or fruity note, some hop at the final, really good.
Almost gave it a 5 for palate. Lovely ruby colour thin tight head in chalice . Rich fruity treacle malt sweet and tingly in tongue. Lovely . So easy drinking.
Pop sound when the cap removed. A silent yet rich pour producing an enormous 3.5 finger beige head. Compact frothy bubbles over dark amber to opaque. Sweet malt on the nose. So totally in an elite class. Caramel, soft fruity cake taste, almost honey and fig. The foamy head lasts the duration of several tastes. Certainly world class and and to anyone a non insulting taste, timeless balance of sweet and bitter. A tingling on the tongue, satisfied finish.
Dark brown in colour. Smells malty, bread like and plums. Soft but complex in scent. Taste is medium but complex. Shining through flavours of malts, bread, dried dark fruits and slight tones of bannana and plums. This also packs a slight warmness. Lovely well balanced drink by master brewers.
´Als Abschluss eines gemütlichen bierigen Abend kam noch dieses Bier. Es ist ein wirklich intensives belgisches Bier, das primär durch seine Aromen nach Karamell und Malz erfreut. DIe weihnachtlichen Gewürze kommen im Körper durch. Was die große Stärke dieses BIers ist, ist sein fein harmonisches Zusammenspiel zwischen den oben genannten Aromen. Es mag vielen zu süß sein, aber aufgrund der tollen Harmonie der Gewürznotenmit dem Karamell wirklich ein bekömmliches, feines Bier. Ein klassischer, toller Belgier.
330 ml bottle. Nice looking beer perfect foam. Complex smell, but soft. Taste is great belgish, but small ending, even if the blue is better, this is still great.
Rousse très sombre, elle génère une belle mousse dense de couleur crème. Forte, elle se boit volontiers en grignotant un morceau de fromage.