Is there much difference between Westy 12 and Rochefort 10 or St. Bernardus? Not too crazy over the style and I have a Westy 12 that I'm not sure what to do with. Do you recommend trading away a Westy 12 or having it?
If you're not crazy about the style, trade it. How did you end up with a Westy 12 without liking the style?
Have it, man! No other way to know how you feel about it, and you've got one in hand. If you can pull it off, maybe even do a comparisson with the other two for another point of reference. (fwiw- I prefer it to the other two, but not by much. I definitely wouldn't pass up any reasonable opportunity to have it again, though.) ETA: sometimes all it takes is one beer to change your feelings about a whole style.
Ended up with a 2002 Westy from a trade I did a while back. I know the chances of picking up something like it don't come often, so I just pulled the trigger on it even though I was on the fence about it. @Hanzo = too funny.
It is similar to the other ones. If you don't like them I doubt you will love the Westy. If it's an 2002 you could probably land nice whale via trade.
Westvleteren does not make a tripel, and Westvleteren 12 with age is sublime. I think with a couple years on it it really shines.
Right on both counts, I've had a few (probably about 5) fresh Westy's so far, the oldest I've tried has been two years old and I found it better than the fresh ones. Jim (Unclejimbo) has had a ton of the 12 over the years, I know he thinks it's best at two. Also, Thijs (Brabander) may chime in with a more educated opinion than I. The pale ale (Westy Blonde) does not age well at all, had a few fresh ones, the non-infected ones were fantastic. To the OP, if you don't like St. Bernardus Abt. 12 you will most likely be unimpressed with Westvleteren 12.
I'm not a huge fan of the style. That said, I recently tried a Westy 12 that was bottled last fall, and it was one of the best beers I've ever tasted, it just blew me away. There's a reason it's so highly rated
I had a one year old Rochefort 10 yesterday and i must say that the depth of this beer is not as intense as the Westvleteren 12. Drink the bottle although it is maybe not your style or even better, share it with a good friend! We had a blind tasting a few months ago at Doopiedoopidoo's place with a bunch of BA's and the only quad i really recognized was the Westvleteren 12. The Bernardus, the Sint Amatus and the Rochefort were not recognized by me. Glad i got the Westy 12 right though! Thijs
I just want to try it so I know. I really enjoyed Rochefort 10, but not so much with Abt 12. So it's a crapshoot, but that's a bottle I would really love to get regardless.
Westy 12 is a fantastic beer. While it may not be worth going through extreme effort to get, if you have one it is most certainly worth drinking. I think it's quite a bit better than Rochefort 10, though the latter is still a good beer as well. St. Bernardus 12 I think comes a bit closer to Westy 12 and tastes more similar, though I think it still falls a bit short. Cuvee van der Keizer Blauw is a very good alternative as well--better and a bit easier on the wallet than Bernardus or Rochefort, IMO.
