Hey my beer brethren,
Welcome to my first Sunday Session here with WLCB. Some of you may be familiar with my regular Sunday Session posts on my Alechemist fb page but for my new brethren, each week I’ll be breaking a beer down by Appearance, Aroma, Taste and an Overall Impression.
I’ve decided to start at the top with my first Session so it’s all down hill from here….
Your friendly but quite mad Alechemist has managed to get his grubby little mitts on a Westvleteren 12. That’s right kiddies, the beer that’s been dubbed as the best in the world. Westvleteren 12 is brewed by the Trappist Munks of the Saint-Sixtus Abbey in Belgium and It’s only available from the Abbey door after placing an order with them.
Sadly many Bothans died getting this beer to me… but on a lighter note I’m chomping at the bit to wet my whistle with this one so let’s dive in hey?
Appearance – Pours a hazy dark chocolaty brown with pillowy off white head that hangs around for a while before dropping to a nice cover with good lacing. This looks gorgeous in a tulip or Abbey goblet, my mouth is watering!
Aroma – Beautiful plum and raisins, brown sugar, light spice, some nice alcohol, nuttiness, a bit of roastiness with some background pear. This has all the necessary aromas of a Belgian dark quadruple although I think this bottle could of benefited from a cellering as it’s very fresh.
Taste – Following the nose with some nice spicy notes, some reasonably managed alcohol, plums, dark dried fruit, some grape characters, hazelnuts, a little chocolate and figs rounding out a very nice quad. This is very fresh and flavors are easily identified.
Overall – To tell the truth I’m a little disappointed. Not with the beer but with myself, I knew this bottle was young and wouldn’t present as a good quadruple should. Yes it’s a great belgian dark strong but I’ve had better that were in their prime. No doubt this beer aged and reviewed again will produce the results I was looking for. Having said that (IMO), as a young beer it doesn’t hold a candle to a St Steenberge Gulden Draak unaged.
So there you have it my beer brethren this one will be re-visited and I’ll reserve my opinion on it being the best beer in the world until I get my hands on an aged example. So stay tuned and I’ll catch you all next week on the Sunday Session.
Cheers Swannie.