What's Next?

If you look through the most acclaimed beer websites on the net, the Westvleteren 12 is the top beer received by most critics. We acquired this beer a little under a year ago and have been letting it self-brew in the fridge for all that time, intending on having it on the 1-year anniversary of the blog. But, what some may think, is next?

Well, our initial goal was to top off the ratebeer.com Top 50 list. After further review, we noticed that the Top 50 is populated by mostly 2 beer types (Quadruples and Imperial Stouts). We then revised this goal to hit the top 5 (or so) of each beer style; broaden our views and have the best of each category. This will still happen, but we need to establish a new Mount Olympus.

We were thinking about setting our sights on the Tactical Nuclear Penguin or the Samuel Adams Utopias. Both of which are very expensive, but extremely alcoholic and rare beers. Also, BrewDog just released the Sink The Bismarck!, which is 41% ABV - we're also looking into this on the scale of extreme beers. If our readers (pending there are any) have any other suggestions on top beers we should investigate, please let us know in the comments. The community is the strongest part of the craft beer business and we like to hear feedback from that community - it may help us find something new!

Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 12

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, the king of them all, the top of the mountain, the apex of beer, the Westvleteren 12. This particular beers journey has been vast. It started out at the brewery in Belgium and made its way to a second-hand beer store in Amsterdam. While my father was there on a trip he bought it and brought it back home, which then made its way back up to my school. So this beer has been on two trains, in two cars, on at least one airplane, and moved back and forth between three different rooms. Hopefully it has survived.

The Westy 12 pours deep brown with a lot of sediment and a thin frothy white head. The brew has a slight amount of carbonation and leaves very good lacing when the head disappears. The aroma is extremely complex and quite sweet. Included in it is notes of plums, raisins, white wine, and a little bit of hops/spice. The taste is magical - dark fruits, light fruits, sweet malts, and a slight hoppy backbone. No trace of alcohol at all. Let me remind our reader (readers maybe) that this brew is over 11% alcohol even though I could drink this all day long.

It may be part hype, it may be part mystery, but there's no escaping the fact that this is by far the best Belgian Quadruple I've ever had... and that is saying a LOT.

Appearance - 4.1

Smell - 4.7

Taste - 4.5

Texture - 4.6

Overall - 4.48/5

Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus 12

This is it. The brew we have been (literally) waiting for. This beer has been in our possession, brewing, for about a year. And we finally had it. Let's see how the best beer in the world (as rated by most beer sites) fared.

Poured out a solid brown/amber color. It was pretty translucent but a lot of sediment was also visible. The beer laced very nicely and reproduced a head on swirl very readily. The Westy had a nose of dark and light fruits (grapes) and a touch of barley and sweet hops. The taste had no trace of bitterness and it was mostly sweet from the fruits present in the brew. It felt very hearty and the combination of the barley and sediment gave it a very velvety taste and texture. It was, overall, extremely smooth. The alcohol was extremely well covered but it still had a warming sensation to it - evidence of the ~10.5% ABV.

Overall, it was everything we thought it would be and then some. It was probably one of the most solid brews Fonnie or myself have ever enjoyed. It didn't have any tricks up its sleeve (like coffee or chocolate or any weird [but tasty] bits in it). It was just a beer that was brewed with the most attention it could have been given and it resulted in a beer that was, literally, touched by God. Keep on going monks, this shit rocks.

Appearance - 4.3
Smell - 4.8
Taste - 4.5
Texture - 4.6
Overall - 4.55/5

Brew Tasting the Thirty-Fifth

This is it ladies and gentlemen, the one year anniversary of the blog. We've been saving this for almost a year. The best beer in the world as rated by sites all over the internet. It is time.

1. Westvleteren 12.

Stay tuned.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

And this is it. Beer Geek Breakfast paired with some chocolate chip pancakes for the perfect way to start a new day.

This brew pours black with a nice caramel colored head that quickly fades, although it leaves behind some pretty nice lacing. The smell is of coffee. I know I say that for a lot of the stouts and imperial stouts but this really smells just like coffee. Almost no malt or hop aroma whatsoever. The taste is also very strong on the coffee but includes hints of chocolate, roasted barley, and a little tinge of alcohol. This is far and above better than any other normal stout that I've had but its complexity does not come anywhere close to that of a good imperial stout. Still, its good, and even better when paired with a nice breakfast.

Appearance - 4.2

Smell - 4.0

Taste - 3.8

Texture - 4.0

Overall - 4.0/5

Mikkeller Geek Breakfast Beer

It was in my hand, and then it was taken away from me. And then, I got it back. The Mikkeller was a beer that evaded me for months on end. But, we finally got it and now it is going to go into my belly. Omnomnom.

This beer pours very black with a very full, dark tan head and it produced a nice lacing swirled around in my snifter. The smell was of chocolate and a lot of coffee - expected of this Breakfast Brew. The taste followed in the same suit being mostly coffee. This beer also didn't taste that alcoholic and had slight chocolate notes. The Mikkeller was also quite frothy - very smooth and satisfying. The texture had no bite from the alcohol content and it was very smooth and had a nice bit of carbonation as well.

This beer goes great with chocolate dishes - probably best as a dessert beer but we had it in the morning with chocolate-based dishes. I had chocolate chip French toast and Fonnie had chocolate chip pancakes. A great way to start the day off - we suggest you try it.

Appearance - 4.2
Smell - 4.1
Taste - 4.2
Texture - 4.0
Overall - 4.13/5

Brew Tasting the Thirty-Fourth

Today we are having a very special morning review, you'll know why soon enough, stand by.

Stone Brewing Co. Double Bastard Ale

This is just a souped-up version of the regular ol' arrogant bastard ale from Stone. Hopefully this will make it better, but you never know.

This bastard pours brown with slight red tint and a small tan head, very good lacing and overall it looks very similar to the normal arrogant bastard ale. The aroma is very well balanced and includes hints of raisins, plums, yeast, hops, and flowers. Almost smells as if someone mixed in sugar with a bed of flowers. The taste isn't nearly as sweet as the smell would have hinted to and overall its just a well balanced ale. There is a slight sweet maleness in the beginning which leads into a bitter hop finish. Good beer, and pretty much right on par with its weaker (ABV wise) cousin.

Appearance - 3.8

Smell - 4.0

Taste - 3.9

Texture - 3.9

Overall - 3.9/5

Stone Brewing Co. Double Bastard Ale

How can you be a Double Bastard? Wouldn't that be an orphan? I'm not feeling very PC today, so deal with it. Stone Brewing Co. would get along with me quite nicely.

The beer pours out a dark, amber color with minimal, tan head. The lacing was very nice and the body was a little cloudy. The smell was very sweet with bits of light fruits and floral hints. Overall, it was a very "balanced smell", as Fonnie put it. Basically, it didn't lean to any side on the spectrum but it had an identity - very refreshing. The taste was hoppy and bitter and not nearly as sweet as it smelled. It warmed the cockle of my heart...maybe the subcockles. It was also very woody and had the feeling of whiskey. The texture was rather smooth and warm the whole way down. It had a bit of notable carbonation, although it was kind of rough in the middle of the test.

Overall, this followed in the footsteps of the Bastard Ale in being a beastly brew that you shouldn't try unless you're looking to be surprised and tested as to the ability of yourself to take a rough beer. But, it's a good rough...pending you have a palate a little more mature than one that's only seen Coors Light.

Appearance - 4
Smell - 4.1
Taste - 4.1
Texture - 3.8
Overall - 4.0/5

Brew Tasting the Thirty-Third

We've already had the Bastard, why not try the Double Bastard? Two must be better than one, I would hope.

1. Stone Brewing Co. Double Bastard Ale