1.9.13 - The Holy Grail

To almost every beer geek in-the-know, it's the Holy Grail.  To some, it's overrated..  but even they cannot deny it's appeal.  If you haven't guessed yet.. or somehow missed the GIANT image beneath these words, yes I'm talking about Westvleteren.. specifically Westvleteren 12.

Brewed by the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Wesvleteren in Belgium, it's widely regarded as the best beer in the world.  It's only (technically) sold on-premise, and only enough is brewed to fund the monastery.  "We brew beer to be able to afford being monks"  The only way to get it is to call and call and call.. supposedly it takes several tries. Finally you may get an answer and your told when to arrive and how much you can buy.  It's long been more precious than gold on the beer black market.  It's even been noted that there have been counterfeit Westy 12 on the black market; people filling empty bottles with a similar Quad and selling for Westy price.  So when it was announced last year that the monastery needed repairs and to fund it they were releasing a large batch to the US for sale.. well us beer geeks flipped our collective shits.  To purchase 6 of the fabled brews, authentic, legally, without having to travel overseas.. well slap me silly and call me Sally!

Gorgeous, ain't it?

The Westvleteren XII  - a 10.2% ABV Belgian Quad.  For the longest time it was rated at the #1 beer on the planet on sites like BeerAdvocate.com and ratebeer.com.  While currently overtake on Beer Advocate's site by the likes of hop bombs such as Heady Topper and the Pliny family, as well as a barrel-aged version of the Breakfast Stout by Founder's, it still ranks a mind-shattering 6th.  Yes, out of every possible beer on the planet, there are only 5 ranked as better.  Granted, this is all opinion, but the opinion of thousands of beer lovers has some serious power.

A sexy screen-printed bottle that releases a mildly brown pour with a ruby .  The rich malty nose jumps from the pour and spills over the sides of the custom chalices.  Fig, plum, raisins, molasses and caramel all dance under my nose..  earthy and a definite booze note.  It's far more carbonated that any other Quad I've ever had, or ever will have.  This lends to a 10% + beer being far too drinkable.  That aside, it's much lighter than the nose or taste would lead you to believe. Not as sweet as the nose suggests, but nice bold malty notes - light molasses and sweet caramel with huge touches of dark Belgian candi sugar.  Figs, raisins and black cherries build up the dark fruit component. As it warms I start to get apple and peach notes.  The booze is present throughout, but actually fades a bit as it warms.  Only the slightest bit of yeast is present, as would be expected.  Chocolate notes pick up in the aftertaste with some nuttiness and dryness from the carbonation.

I would give this a solid 9.5 hops - the balance was incredible, it was complex yet oh so drinkable.  The fact that many enthusiasts will never get the chance to drink this.. well that bumps it up to a 10!!!