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Taste:
Overall:
Description:
Westvleteren XII, aka. - "Westy 12" or the "Greatest Beer in the World", is produced in rather small production runs at a small Trappist monastery in Belgium. You must buy at the brewery or the cafe across the street. The amount each person can buy is also limited.
Add to that scarcity, the fact that this is a very well made beer which seems to consistently live up to most of the hype.
Brewer:
Beer Style:
ABV:
10.00% ABV
Availability Frequency:
year-round
Containers Available:
bottle
Locations Where Available:
Belgium
Store/Serve Temperature:
close to 60 degrees F
Comments
Met and exceeded my expectations
Westvleteren 12 was orange-amber in the glass with a whisp of a ring.
I smell caramelized sugar and a basket of light and fruits. Is that honey, too? There is a nice complexity with the fruitiness.
The taste is nearly identical to the smell. The complexity of the fruit flavors is what make this different than other quads I've had. I've had some really dark quads and some that taste like boozy, light tripels...but Westy's fruit profile is such an interesting balance of light and dark fruit flavors.
I've heard of Westvleteren's beer. As a lover of Belgian styles, I've dreamt of one day having some. It is with great joy that I find it just as fantastic as I heard and hoped it would be. I will have some at every opportunity which arises. This was a wish come true.
Now, I've bought imports of small-bottled beers for $8 or $10 before and thought the expense was okay and maybe worth paying to try some of them. In the case of Westy 12, I wouldn't hesitate to spend $15-20 for a bottle every now and then but I can't scoff at being mostly content with other Trappist options which can be had for cheaper.