St. Bernardus Abt 12:
The Five Senses of Beer Tasting:
Appearance - This beer pours a dark brown with a thick brownish white head that quickly disappears. The head seemed to be mostly carbonation, that when subsided left a nice lacing on the glass. This beer looked very lively with plenty of carbonation.
Smell - Very different then what I had expected. I got a spicy Carmel slightly fruity (banana, actually) followed by an almost bread-like end.
Taste - big bread-like taste that goes right into a sweet malty back bone, with hints of carmel and a certain spice that I could not put my finger on. (I'm going to say clove with slight pepper that blend together very nicely.) It's really hard to pick out all the flavors, as this beer is balanced so well. And there is no sign of the alcohol anywhere--which is surprising seeing how its 10% abv.
Mouth Feel - The mouth feel was lighter then I expected. St. Bernadus' light carbonation gave it a crisp refreshing finish. Once again no alcohol taste! (They really did this one right!)
Over all - St. Bernardus is a very good well balanced beer from start to finish. Lots of flavor, yet never got too much of one flavor. Really surprised with the malty sweetness in the middle and that really help pull all the favor this beer has together. Being 10% abv. and never once would think it really speaks for its self. I can't really say enough about this beer. I highly recommend St. Bernardus Abt 12 for anyone that is in search of a good Belgium beer. Or even if you're just starting to get in to Belgium beer this one is great to start.