The End...Sort Of.

Day #721 Westvleteren 12 / Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren, Westvleteren, Belgium
Previously from this brewery:  The blonde and the 8

First, before the review allow me to announce that there are changes coming to your favorite beer blog.  No, not that one.  This one here.  Going forward, you are likely to not see a post every day, as you have for the past 721 days.  The writing staff have agreed that after nearly two years, we've lost some steam and maybe some passion, and schedules are currently making it difficult to drink, review, and write on an every day basis.  This by no means spells the end of this blog.  Quite the opposite.  There will still be reviews and commentary, but on a more manageable pace that fits in with our lifestyles.

So, to close out this phase of the blog, I'm going to pull out my last review that I had stashed from Belgium; quite possibly the rarest of the white whale beers, the Westvleteren 12.  Regardless of what source you consult (like this one, or this one, or this one), Westy 12 is likely to be the #1 ranked beer in the world, and if not, then somewhere near the top of the list.  That lofty - and let's face it - cult status stems from the fact that it is delicious (more on that soon), but also because they don't distribute their beer anywhere other than a cafe across the street from the abbey.  So, unless you have some well connected friends or a plane ticket to Belgium or the abbey has a serious financial need, you aren't having one of these.  And that makes it special. A running joke I have with some beer friends is that if you want your beer to become famous in the increasingly crowded world of craft beers, make a good beer.... and then don't sell it to anyone.  Might be some truth in that.

This may actually be the Westy 8... but go with it

So, the review.  In the glass, this quad pours a dark brown color, with a thick and lingering off white head. The aroma is an intoxicating mix of dark fruits, sweet malt, and Belgian yeast.  You could inhale this beer all day.  But even better than that would be actually drinking the beer, and when you do there are wonderful flavors of apple, raisin, and malt, with some caramel and spice in there as well.  Rich and complex, this beer definitely got even better as it warmed up a bit.  I'm probably not doing this beer justice, but trust me when I say that this is indeed an amazing, world class beer.

But is it the best ever?  I guess it all depends on your definition and what styles you prefer.  I've had more complex beers, I've had more flavorful beers, I've had more unusual beers.  All that being said, this is a very delicious beer, and the inability to get this beer easily definitely ratchets up the value.  However, I'll leave it up to you to decide if this is the best beer on earth when you drink one yourself.

As we leave this phase of the blog and move into the next phase, allow me to pause and again say thank you to you, the readers, who stopped by frequently, liked posts on Facebook, and every now and then would mention in person that you took our advice on a beer.  That means a lot.  And of course, thank you to Marci, my co-author, who had the crazy idea to launch this blog in the first place.  Been quite an adventure, and thank you for that.

Thing to Think About Today:

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