Westvleteren 12

So thanks to a very cool co-worker, I will be checking 1 beer off of my bucket list this weekend. I have been given a Westvleteren 12 which is a beer I have been wanting to try for years. They are made by Trappist monks in a Belgian abbey, and are very limited in number (60,000 cases made a year). As I know some of you guys are into beer as well, I thought I would ask if anyone had ever had a Westy 12, and what your thoughts were on it. I will be opening on Friday with the wife.

Never heard of it.
Plus I would have to be drunk just to pronounce it correctly

Belgian beers are my favourites without question. Westvleteren 12 is something of a legend, supposed to be amazing. Golden Carolus Cuvee Van der Kaiser Bleu is amazing and usually a winter thing of you can find it.

Btw, for what it's worth, Leffe (as in Brown/Brune or Blonde) is supposed to be pronounced Leff not Leff-fay.

Belgians, dude.

I remember drinking this beer in the Hage in the Netherlands many years ago.It was like a fine tasting wine.Appropriately enough the pub was called 'The OLD TIMER'
I also like Grimbergen triple.Another fine Beer.I like German and Belgian beer very much.Aventinus is a good strong German wheat beer also.
Cheers//

Just to update this post, the Westy was amazing. One of the more complex beers I have ever had. Malty, with hints of apple and raisin. Very earthy tones. At the tail end you start to get a whisky feel that you fear will become overpowering, but then it just mellows out to a smooth finish. I have since tried another Abbey Quadruple, St. Bernardus APT 12 and it was very similar to Westy, but just a tad bit sweeter. Both are great, but the Westy was definately deserving of it's legend.

rjohnston411 wrote:Belgian beers are my favourites without question. Westvleteren 12 is something of a legend, supposed to be amazing. Golden Carolus Cuvee Van der Kaiser Bleu is amazing and usually a winter thing of you can find it.  

Btw, for what it's worth, Leffe (as in Brown/Brune or Blonde) is supposed to be pronounced Leff not Leff-fay.

It depends on whether the name is pronounced the French (Walloon) or Dutch (in Flanders) way. In the Walloon part of the country indeed the final 'e' is not pronounced and it sounds like 'Leff'. However, in Flanders where the name is pronounce the Dutch way the final 'e' is pronounced, but it obviously does not sound like if the word would be pronounced by a native speaker of English. Instead of 'Leff-fay' as you indicate, the final 'e' is pronounced like the 'u' in 'nut' or 'butter' while it is the first syllable of the word that is stressed, so almost like 'Léffu'.