St. Bernardus Mixed Selection (6 ales)

Brewed by:  St. Bernardus Brewery Country: Belgium Style: Various ABV: 6.7%, 8%, 10% , 8%, 5.5%, 4.8% Ratebeer.com rating: 92, 98, 100, 98, 90, 74 BeerAdvocate.com rating: 91, 93, 99. 94, 92, 88 Bottle Size: 11.2 oz. (6 bottles) St. Bernardus Mixed Selection contains 6 bottles of St. Bernardus Abbey Ale: one 11.2 oz bottle each of Pater 6, Prior 8, Abt 12, Tripel, Wit, and Extra 4. ABVs from 4.8% to 10%; Ratebeer.com ratings from 74 to 100 (out of 100). St. Bernardus Pater 6 is an abbey style dubbel that pours dark brown with a small off-white head. Top fermented and bottle conditioned, the brew boasts aromas of caramel, malt, cherries, bread, and clove. Taste follows the nose and also includes plum and fig with malt and spice balanced by notes of brown sugar and darker fruits. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth with an active carbonation and a 6.7% ABV. The finish is long, dry and slightly bitter. Ratebeer.com rating: 92/100 St. Bernardus Prior 8 is an abbey style dubbel that pours a dark brown color with red highlights and a frothy beige head. Top fermented and bottle conditioned, the brew boasts aromas of dried fruit, malt, cherry, caramel and bread. Taste follows the nose and also includes dark candy sugar, citrus, apricot and banana with notes of coffee, yeast and anise. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth with an active carbonation and a warming 8.0% ABV. The finish is long and dry, touched with fruit and a slight hop bitterness. Ratebeer.com rating: 98/100 St. Bernardus Abt 12 is an award winning quadrupel that pours a hazy brown with a frothy beige head and expressive carbonation. Top fermented, bottle conditioned and matured for three months, the brew boasts aromas of dried fruits, plums and raisins, coffee, cherry, bread and caramel. Taste follows the nose and includes candy sugar sweetness balanced by spice, coriander, a big hit of malt, fruit, and the warming power of 10.0% ABV. The mouthfeel is soft, smooth and medium bodied. The finish is dry, warm and slightly bitter. Ratebeer.com rating: 100/100 St. Bernardus Tripel is an abbey style tripel that pours a golden color with a small white head and expressive carbonation. Top fermented and bottle conditioned, the brew boasts aromas of citrus, clove, yeast and bread, candy sugar, banana and peach. Taste follows the nose and opens sweet with notes of mango, orange and lemon-zest followed by fruit and balancing notes of spice and hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with an 8.0% ABV present but not overpowering; the finish is long, slightly bitter, warming and dry. Ratebeer.com rating: 98/100 St. Bernardus Wit is a traditional Belgian bottle-conditioned white ale developed and brewed in collaboration with the legendary master brewer Pierre Celis. It appears a very pale, hazy straw yellow, with a dense, white head. Aroma is wheaty, with apple-like tartness; herbal-spicy notes of coriander, white pepper and orange peel are complemented by a light, honey-like sweetness. Refreshing, tart, and crisp; light-bodied and easy to drink --just what a Belgian Witbier should be! ABV 5.5%. Ratebeer.com rating: 90 (out of 100). St. Bernardus Extra 4 is a refreshing blond beer that is brewed in the classic single style. Extra 4 has the golden hue of pale straw, and is topped with a snowy-white collar. As it re-ferments in the bottle, it produces a lovely fizz in the glass. (4.8% ABV) Ratebeer.com rating: 74/100 Brewery Information: The St. Bernardus Brewery was founded in 1946 by Evarist Deconinck. When the Trappist monks of the St. Sixtus Monastery in Westvleteren, Belgium decided that brewing and promotional efforts had become a serious distraction from religious and contemplative activities, they granted Deconinck a license to brew and distribute Trappistine beers based on the monastery's recipe. That arrangement continued for decades, but in 1992, when it was decreed that only beers brewed within the walls of a monastery under direct control of the monks could be called Trappist beers, St. Bernardus launched its own brand of abbey beers to huge success. Today, the brewery distributes award winning ales to more than two dozen countries including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia and Japan.