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Rating: 5.0/5 (6 votes cast)

Beer Profile

• Brewery: St. Bernardus Brewery
• Website:
• Country: Belgium
• State:
• Style: Quadrupel
• Malts:
• Hops:
• ABV:
• IBUs:
• Tasting Notes:
• Preferred Glass:
• Food Pairing:
• PHM Grade: A

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St. Bernardus Abt 12

Sometimes one gets caught up in life. Things seem chaotic, stressful, overwhelming. You open a St. Bernardus Abt 12 with such anticipation and it sprays all over the place, spouting out the top like Old Faithful and onto your carpet, seeping in with the old yeast smell that your wife loves so much. And you hurriedly sop it up with a few bits of paper towel and try to take a quick picture before the head disappears and then…you realize you have a beer in your hand. A beautiful, aromatic, perfectly pungent beer. And all is well with the world.

The color was a carbonation saturated brown, like a root beer perhaps, smelling similarly, even. It had a candy-sweet nose with a soft blend of ripened fruit and hints of coffee. The St. Bern’s went down smooth. Unbelievably smooth and flowed down like a velvety chocolate. The alcohol was present for sure and lingered, but not unpleasantly so. As many beers do, it got better as it warmed and I must say it is the first beer in many weeks that I wished for another glass.

A bit o’ history I found interesting: The water used in all St. Bernardus brews is pure as can be, pumped from over 450 feet below the earth’s surface. Also, after brewing, sugar and yeast are added for a second fermentation which ‘gives the beer a beautiful and large froth’ (that might end up on your floor if you’re not careful). The Abt is the ‘absolute top quality’ in the hierarchy of this brewery’s fine choices.

I guess my love of tripels was of no consequence, as the quad is a completely different beast, but I loved it just the same!

ABV: 10.5%

Grade: A