Southampton Abbot 12 | Southampton Publick House

4.12/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to JoeCeez for sharing this one.

A - Auburn with nice highlights when held to the light and a strange fizzy, cola like light tan head that leaves a good amount of foam behind.

S - Sweet candi sugar, spicy yeast, dark fruits of plum and raisin that create a nice earthy aroma and remind me of a wonderful Mole sauce I had recently at Fronterra Grill. Brown sugar, caramel and maybe even a touch of banana.

T - Candy like sweetness of brown sugar mixed with candi sugar. Some spicy yeast follows and then mellows into an earthy, dark fruit treat of plums, figs and raisins.

M - Medium body with high carbonation but not fizzy in the mouth. Some alcohol warming and hotness.

D - On the sweet side but somehow it works in this beer. Not as complex as others I have had but there is something very tasty about this one.

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4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured from a bomber into a snifter, dark brown pour with a big white head, light lacing. The aroma is full of sweet dark fruit(dates and plums), and alcohol. The flavors are very sweet, dark fruit, and hot alcohol. It finishes hot and sweet. The body is full, good carbonation. Even though it is very sweet I liked it. The combination of flavors really worked for me.

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3/5  rDev -24.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

The beer pours a hazy brownish umber, topped with a thin collar of head. Looking closely, you can see tiny clumps of yeast floating in suspension. Kind of like Sea Monkeys! I generally like hazy beers, so that's cool. I'd be interested in seeing this beer properly settled, though.
The aroma is hugely malty, a distinct toffee quality, gushing with sweet candi sugar. Very nice. The fruitiness is impressive as well. Really quite estery, with a nose burning thinner-like quality. Coupled with some alcohol, this is really intense. Lots of fig aroma, with some banana and apple. A bit of clove spiciness, as well.
Taking my first sip, I was a bit surprised with the near still carbonation. Some toffee maltiness peeks through, but a gigantic boozey fusel alcohol flavor dominates everything, finishing almost whiskey-like. Some fig flavor peeks through as well, with a touch of spicy yeast towards the end, but it's mostly incinerated under the alcohol. Full bodied, with a hard liquor feel, mainly because of the lack of carbonation and huge fusel flavor.
I've been assured that the alcohol subsides considerably with time, and it becomes quite a good beer. As for the still carbonation, perhaps I got a bad bottle, or the bottle conditioning didn't take off? I'm certainly going to wind up with another bottle at some point, and I'll re-review appropriately. I'm open to anyone who feels like sending me one!

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3.25/5  rDev -18.3%

3/5  rDev -24.6%

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

2.88/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Thanks pugman for this one.

Large corked and caged bottle, pured into a goblet. Deep red, but incredibly clear for the style, it is topped by a creamy, dense off-white head, with good retention and lacing.
The aroma is delicate, but pleasant, if not complex, mostly with dark fruits and a hint of yeast.
Full bodied, it is incredibly sweet and unidimensional; it is candy sweetness, then candy sweetness, and more sugar.
I like a lot of sweet and semi-sweet beers, but this one is excessively sweet. Extremely limited drinkability, and even with dessert it felt too sweet.
My first deception with southampton, which is otherwise an amazing brewery.

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4.1/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a cloudy brown color with a large frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate tart citrus and brown sugar aroma. Medium to full body with a sticky texture and fizzy carbonation. Heavy bittersweet flavor with a medium to heavy bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Good complex brew.

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3.99/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

4/5  rDev +0.5%

4.41/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750 mL brown Belgian bottle, cork-n-cage, best by 12/22/14 (bottled 12/22/09 perhaps?). Brewed and bottled in Royersford, PA; 9.9%. Pours a highly-carbonated deep crimson/plum, with good clarity and a huge, pillowy three finger head that leaves lots of nice, frothy lace. That's a pretty easy five for appearance. Smells sweet, with mature malt, fruity hops and yeast, plums/prunes, raisins, figs, and dates. Sweet, warming, and candy-like on the palate, with lots of dark fruits from dark sugars or malts (or both). There are notes of candied figs, dates, sweet raisins, a touch of roast, a few phenols, cola?, clove?, pecans?, and some floral/spicy hops which impart a moderate bitterness. The body is lightish, crisp and dry, with lots of carbonation and a bitter/roasty/fruity linger. This is an absolutely wonderful beer that is quite well-brewed and dangerously drinkable. My only quibble is that it is a touch sweet, but even with that, the beer remains well-balanced. Without question one of the best quadrupels brewed on this side of the Atlantic; highly recommended.

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3.43/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a deep amber color with one finger of khaki colored head with ok retention. Some lacing remains throughout the beer.

The scent is of dark fruit and some Belgian sugar.

The taste is kind of syrupy and flat. There are dark fruits, some roasted chocolate malt, some yeast notes.

Full body, syrupy and creamy, low to moderate carbonation.

There was some good flavor in this beer but it was very flat making it kind of unpleasant.

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4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

3.85/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

It pours a hazy, dark tea mix of copper amber and brown. Three fingers of light beige, beaten egg-white head sustain almost eternally. Contrails of lacing fly across the inside of the glass.

The aroma is ubiquitous, wafting about potently, but it focuses on tangy sweet grain with vanilla and caramel. Banana and blueberry are astir in the esters, and clove and coriander abound. Green apple and alcohol grace the periphery.

Upon sipping, densely sweet toasted grain and absolutely cloying candy sugar envelop the tongue. Thus becomes the challenge, to detect any more than the merest hints of spice or fruit. Alcohol, though, is present, but mediated by a continuation of cough-syrup sweetness. The finish, almost surprisingly, carries crisp green apple and dries considerably. However, the finish has most of the discernible flavor, as the sweetness presents a struggle to note much else.

Full bodied, it's sugar laden napalm, syrupy and coating with a moderate creamy caress.

If the flavor was even close to as distinguishable as the aroma it would be a big winner. But instead it's dense sugar sweetness from dangling uvula to smacking lips. The ABV is big and well-incorporated, but drinking it is a fair, if not totally unenjoyable task. I had it, can say I did, and lived to tell about it, but the truth is there are plenty of Southampton beers I'll have again before this one. Unless I have to counteract an insulin overdose.

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3.16/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Served in a 10.5oz glass for $3.50 for some reason. Sampled 6/1/12.

A: Arrives with a 1.5 finger high head, extremely persistent. Creamy, foamy in texture, khaki in color. The body is dark brassy amber with noticeable clarity. Lacing in waves sticks with great proficiency, especially given the ABV.

S: Lots of Belgian yeast esters add a deeper complexity to the typical dark fruit notes. Prunes and plums. Belgian dark candi. Light new leather.

T: Follows the nose closely. Estery, dark fruity, cocoa, semi roasted. Overall flavor strays far from Quadrupel expectations.

M: Rich, malty body with a lasting, fine tingling effervescence, probably a touch too aggressive for my preference in the style. Slightly boozy on the finish.

O: Lousy Belgian Quad. Decent American Quad. The yeast was more of a player than I am used to - and there was an odd, semi roasted thing going on, but all of the above created a nice twist for an American interpretation.

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3.75/5  rDev -5.8%

4.24/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had to pour this one with a bit of vigour to create any head. What is there does not last, very little lacing and a dark ruby color.

Smells of sweet malts (almost sugar like sweet), fruits (raisins and other dark fruits). A yeasty spiciness is also noticeable.

Tastes rather sweet but nice, becomes fruitier after a few gulps and warming thanks to the 10.5% tag.

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3.59/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%

4/5  rDev +0.5%

4.32/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Dark amber pour with touches of royal purple; great head

Smell: Sweet caramel-malts, toffee, brown sugar, caramel, spices and dark fruits. Great for the style

Taste: Spot-on for the style again, nice caramel malts, toffee, brown sugar, molasses, dark fruits (dates & raisins), and faint spices. My only compliant is that it is a bit too sweet

Mouthfeel: Rich, perhaps a bit syrupy

Overall: Probably one of the best american quads, really well done. High sweetness pulls down the drinkability slightly. I'd like to try this one again.

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4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear dark amber color with mahogany hues and a gynormous ice cream float-like light tan head. Visibly effervescent, leaving impressive lacing patterns in its wake. The initial uncorked smell came across a little sour to me, not sure what that was about, but that soon subsided. The aroma is primarily an earthy Belgian yeast, vanilla and dark fruits. Not sure, but I imagine that vanilla characteristic is part of the 10.5% ABV; nicely done. Those bountiful tiny bubbles really lend a creaminess to the mouth feel. Full flavored and bubbly, the sweet dark fig fruit taste is complemented by a tangy almond kick. This one is coming across like one my favorite Belgian Strong Dark Ales instead of a Quad. I'm having a REALLY HARD TIME spanking it for being 'beyond' style. The last quad that i had was in your face alcohol...i hope that when i get to Westvleteren 12 that it presents me with a happy medium or I'll really be bumbed. This is on my Favorties list...regardless of how I scored it.

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3.5/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Purchased at New Beer Distributors in NYC, poured into a cervoise with a temperature of somewhere between 50 and 60 degrees.
The lack of pop in the removal of the cork had me a bit nervous but there were enough bubbles in the glass to put me at ease.
So far, lookin pretty good but not stunning. Has a nice color, but barely any head with a hard pour that goes away quickly and very little lacing is to be found.
Odors are pleasant, but anemic. Some sweetness is there and some malty nuttiness that you might find in a rich dark German beer.
Flavor is WAY sugary. Frangelico comes to mind from time to time but not quite so nutty. Brown sugar candy time. Store brand cola. I paired some of this with a flavorful spicy stew and this brew cut through all that and THEN some. Pretty one dimensional though I happen to enjoy that one dimension.
Mouthfeel is definitely thin for the style; has a slickness to it and is not cloying. Not very traditional as far as my experience tells me. Maybe something new is being attempted.
Southampton Abbot 12 reminds me of the one bottle of Kasteelbier Brune I've had, though the Southampton sample is probably less aged than the Kasteel. I've also had lots more beer since I had the Kasteel. As it stands now for me, Southampton Abbot 12 is a middle of the road quadrupel. This bottle might have needed some age to it in order to develop more flavors (no born on date to be found but I can tell from the label that this is from the new line of Southampton brews).
Right before this fellow I had a 12 ounce bottle of Three Philosophers, and I must say (no Ommegang bias intended) that Three Philosophers wins in every way.

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3.86/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750ml bottle into Duvel tulip. Marked 12/22/14, so I'm going to assume it was bottled in December of 2009.

Appearance: Careful pour yields a two and a half inch offwhite, fizzy head that crackles and pops audibly and visibly, but dissipates slowly, leaving swatches of lacing. Bottle wasn't exactly a gusher, but a bit of foam rose out of the top upon popping the cork. Pours a beautiful deep red, and decorates the glass with long lasting streaks of lacing.

Smell: At first there's a very strong aroma of Belgian yeast, as well as some clove and coriander. The smell develops a deep, musky note reminiscent of cologne, then a weird, almost chlorine-like aroma. This airy, indoor pool smell comes to (unfortunately) dominate the aroma. Deeper into the glass, some of the estery goodness from the taste pops up in the nose, and the (perhaps hoppy) pool character subsides a bit.

Taste: Follows the initial smell; healthy dose of Belgian yeast, lots of spice, but additionally there's a deep caramel flavor and some nice dark fruit (closest to raisin i think) esters right off the bat. It's apparent early on that this is a reasonably successful American attempt at a quad. There's lots of development of flavor, transitioning through nice, rich toffee and caramel notes and deep, musty, intriguing dark fruit notes. Boozy finish, but not so much that it hides or intrudes on any of the delicious flavors.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Not particularly good... a bit too carbonated, yet not at all creamy. Kind of boring, but on the upside, not much to complain about (e.g. it's not too sugary or sticky, despite the decadent flavors, nor is it overwhelmingly hot despite the high ABV and noticeable alcohol flavor).

Drinkability: This beer doesn't hide its 10.5% ABV, but it delivers enough flavor to justify it. A good sipper, and decent representation of the style.

After the one-note, borderline disaster of Southampton Grand Cru, I was afraid to try this beer... I expected it would either be too simple, or taste like cola. I was pleasantly surprised to find an American quad that rivals Allagash 4. In terms of feel, taste, and aroma, Southampton's quad is not in the same league as Saint Bernardus or Trappistes Rochefort, but it's a good beer. I'll be happy to have this one again, and might throw one in the cellar to see what happens.

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