Abt 12

Brewer: St. Bernardus
Style: Quadrupel
ABV: 10.5%
IBU:
Serving Type: 33cL bottle poured into a St. Bernardus chalice

"Rich mahogany" sounds to me like either a joke or pretentious, but I can think of nothing better to describe this beer's appearance. A deep and dark brown with a touch of red, lightening slightly at th edges of the glass. A tan finger of head settles quickly to a tin film. Minimal lacing. Raisin and plum and banana on the nose, brown sugar and a little oak rounding it out. A really fantastic aroma.

Sweet, caramel malt and a lot of dark fruits; raisin, plum, and fig are all there, with some banana and cherry thrown in for kicks. Balances with a slightly earthy, slightly spicy bitterness. Very smooth with a pleasently prickly carbonation. A nice alcohol warmth is felt all the way down. Finishes sweet and lingering.

Best of the St. Bernardus lineup and an incredible example of the style. The Rochefort 10 edges it out in my book, but that doesn't stop it from being world class.

My score: 5/5
Beer Advocate: 98/100
Rate Beer: 100/100
Pintley: 4.4/5

Trippel

Brewer: St. Bernardus
Style: Trippel
ABV: 8.0%
IBU:
Serving Type: 33cL bottle poured into a St. Bernardus chalice

This one pours a hazy gold with a hint of orange and a solid finger of pure white head. Seems more persistant and with better lacing than the previous St. Bernardus offerings. Lots of banana and clove on the nose and maybe a little earthy or spicy bitterness.

Banana and clove are evident from the first sip, with some tropical and/or citrus fruit coming through at the end with a slight, but quenching, acidity. The alcohol is invisible, an impressive feat at 8%. It has a light to medium body, very crisp and highly carbonated. Finishes dry and very refreshing, with a hint of lemon.

Extrordinarily easy drinking but certainly no lack of complexity. I could almost knock back a few of these on a hot day if not for the high price and alcohol. A really fantastic brew.

My score: 5/5
Beer Advocate: 94/100
Rate Beer: 99/100
Pintley: 4/5

Prior 8

Brewer: St. Bernardus
Style: Dubbel
ABV: 8.0%
IBU:
Serving Type: 33cL bottle poured into a St. Bernardus chalice

Murky and brown like the 6, maybe a little lighter. The head pours off-white and maintains at a little under a finger. Ok lacing. Nice Belgian aroma, with plum and raisin. Puts me in the mind of jam spread over just barely toasted bread.

Flavor fills the whole mouth with just a sip. Taste is a lot of raisin and maybe a hint of cherry. There's also a pleasent brown sugar sweetness. Not at all bitter. A noticeable alcohol warmth. Very creamy mouthfeel paired with a prickly carbonation.

Nice overall, though I think my preference so far is for the 6. There's just not much here to balance the sweetness, and it can almost border on cloying.

My score: 3/5
Beer Advocate: 92/100
Rate Beer: 96/100
Pintley: 4/5

Pater 6

Brewer: St. Bernardus
Style: Dubbel
ABV: 6.7%
IBU:
Serving Type: 33cL bottle poured into a St. Bernardus chalice

The Pater 6 pours a murky brown to amber if you squint at it just right, with a finger of ivory head of fine bubbles. Settles down to a thin but persistent film. Lots of Belgian yeast on the nose. Behind that is all subtleties, but I can find dry fruit and some honey-like sweetness. There's also an ever so slight hint of alcohol, surprising at 6.7%.

The taste comes in quite sweet, but well-balanced, not cloying at all. A complex blend of fruit and spice notes, including byt not limited to fig, raisin, and clove. Bitterness comes afterward, cutting through the sweet but without any definitive hop character. The body is very medium (is that a thing?) and fairly high in carbonation. Tingles the whole mouth with just a sip. And again, a slight warmth of alcohol, even at less than 7% ABV.

All around a great beer. Many will disagree with me, but for the style this is probably about as close to "sessionable" as you're going to get, in spite of my comments about alcohol. Would be an excellent bridge to some of the stronger Trappist brews. All of the trappings are there, but not in quite the same volume as the Abt 12 or a Rochefort 10.

My score: 4/5
Beer Advocate: 92/100
Rate Beer: 96/100
Pintley: 3.9/5

Life and Limb

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. / Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc.
Style: Strong Ale / Specialty Beer
ABV: 10.2%
IBU:
Serving Type: 750 mL bottle poured into an oversize snifter

A dark, opaque brown with a solid film of light tan head. Smells sweet and toasty, a little tinge of alcohol. It's also a little bready and a tad woody, which may be what they're going for with the "life" (yeast) and "limb" (maple, birch syrup) theme.

Tastes very sweet, the maple flavor is evident. Malt is also present and very crystal-toasty. The bitterness comes through at the end and at the back of the tongue. Not a hop bitterness, though. More like green wood, raw. The flavors balance well, but are thrown off a little by the alcohol bite at the end. The alcohol gets stronger as the beer warms. Nonetheless, it's very smooth and goes down easier than 10.2% alcohol would suggest.

This is a good beer, but could do with a bit of aging. Sweet and strong, and meant to be sipped.

My rating: 3.5/5
Beer Advocate: B+
Rate Beer: 78/100
Pintley: 3.9/5

Escondidian Imperial Black IPA

Brewer: Stone Brewing Co.
Style: up for debate... Black IPA? Cascadian Dark Ale?
ABV: 10.8%
IBU:
Serving Type: 22 oz. bottle poured into an oversize snifter

Pours pitch black with a thin finger of dense brown foam. Not even a hint of highlighting, no light is penetrating this. Good lacing. Northwestern hops are very evident in a piney, resinous, even spruce tree aroma. Strong, even before the beer has really warmed to a proper drinking temperature, but not at all overpowering. And then, I get just a slight hint of medicinality at the tail end.

The flavor... I don't know; can something be intense and subtle at the same time? I feel like that's the best way to describe this hoppiness. It's very present, right up front and every bit as pine tree as on the nose... but doesn't linger, and gives way to a slight roasted malt background. And there is a hint of alcohol warmth, felt more in the gut than the mouth or throat. Very smooth and medium bodied, on the light side in carbonation.

This is a really fine beer, yet conflicting for me. I tell myself that I have no great love for hops, but I keep subjecting myself to beers like this anyway. This could be the best hoppy beer on the planet, and I'll like it just fine, but still prefer a good bourbon barrel stout or Belgian quad. Maybe that's just a failing scoring beers in general. The beer may be flawless, but I feel weird scoring it five out of five when there are so many others, whole styles, that I would prefer to drink. Is that an argument for or against rating to style?

My rating: 4/5
Beer Advocate: A-
Rate Beer: 99/100
Pintley:

Black and Brew Coffee Stout

Brewer: Boston Beer Company

Style: Coffee Stout

ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 60
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an English pub glass

Pours a deep, dark brown (like so many others, not quite black). Seems totally opaque, but the edges of the glass betray an ever so faint ruby highlighting. A quarter inch of tan colored head dissipates quickly but leaves a then, persistent film with decent lacing for the style. Bitter, dark roasted coffee aroma, fainter than expected. Maybe a little of that green pepper that accompanies coffee sometimes.


Coffee flavor is much more intense than the nose. A good, dark roast. A mild astringency comes off as a quenching acidity. The body is very smooth and creamy, but a tad thin. The body and the 5.8% ABV make this a very (in my book, anyway) sessionable beer, something you don't often see in a good coffee stout. 


A new addition to the Sam Adams winter 12-pack, and a pity there's only two per case.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: A-

Rate Beer: 91/100

Pintley: