St. Bernardus Wit

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

11.2 ounce bottle into signature chalice, best by 7/11/2012. Pours extremely hazy golden straw color with a nice 1 finger fairly dense white head with good retention that reduces to a thin cap. Some fairly nice lacing clinging on the glass. Aromas of pepper, lemon zest, orange, coriander, grass, bread, wheat, and yeast spices. Nice and well balanced aromas with decent strength. Taste of big pepper, coriander, lemon, orange, bread, lightly tart grain, and yeast spices. No bitterness; with lingering notes of citrus, bread, tart grain, and spices on the finish for a bit. Very nicely balanced flavors, without cloying sweetness. Fairly dry finish. Medium body and carbonation; with a fairly creamy and very smooth mouthfeel. Pretty much no alcohol presence as expected at 5.5%. Overall this is a super smooth, balanced, and very enjoyable witbier; as I would have hoped. Unfortunately it is a bit difficult to find unlike the rest of the lineup.

Another tasty St. Bernardus offering. Did not blow me away as much as I had hoped, but it is definitely worth a pickup.

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

750 ml bottle into signature chalice glass, no bottle dating. Pours crystal clear dark reddish brown color with a nice 2 finger fairly dense khaki head with great retention that reduces to a thick cap that lasts. Some spotty lacing clinging on the glass as well. Aromas of huge cherry, raisin, molasses, candi sugar, caramel, plum, bread, pepper, allspice, and yeast spices. Nice and well balanced aromas with good strength. Taste of big cherry, molasses, raisin, pepper, plum, caramel, cinnamon, biscuit, and tangy yeast spiciness. Lingering notes of big pepper, allspice, dark fruit, molasses, and tangy yeast on the finish for a while. Nice balance of flavors with spiciness not being overpowering at all. Lively carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a fairly creamy mouthfeel. Pretty smooth drinking, but it is still a sipper at 10%. Alcohol is well hidden with only a warming after the finish present. Overall this is an excellent Belgian style Christmas ale. Plenty of nice flavor balance and good drinking for the gravity. After letting the carbonation die down in the glass, this beer really shines.

A really nice Belgian style ale from St. Bernardus. I still need to give the Abt 12 another try soon to see how much my Belgian palate has changed.

St. Bernardus Abt 12

4.3/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

11.2 ounce bottle. Pours deep red brown color with a lot of suspension in the glass with a nice sized tan head with good retention that reduces to a cap. The head practically shot out of the bottle when I opened it and kept coming. Aromas of dark fruits and spices with some alcohol. Taste of strong dark fruits and a bit of chocolate and caramel, with alcohol warming on the finish. The taste of this beer has a very strong lingering presence on the finish. Moderate carbonation. A lot of complex flavors going on in this beer. Very big Belgian and very interesting. Amazing beer! Will definitely pick this up again.

One of the best Belgian style beers in the market right now, and fairly easy to find.