St. Bernadus, hear my prayer!

I'm in beer heaven. I'm writing this now with a Chimay chalice brimming with St. Bernadus Prior 8. This beer is exquisite. It's malty, sweet, fruity, and complex. It's everything I look for in a dubble and then some. I've had the fortune of sampling some of St. Bernadus's best over the last two evenings. Their Abbot 12 and tripel are both excellent as well. Abbot 12 is a quadruple. It's rich, chocolaty, sophisticated, and potent. Their triple falls in line with the classic style, but is more malty and fruity than other triples I've had. I'm completely floored by these beers and highly recommend them, but if you don't trust me, follow the above links to Beer Advocate for some expert opinions.

I think St. Bernadus is the best beer for you dollar. Some Trappist beers probably edge out St. Bernadus, but they are also twice as expensive. St. Bernadus hits that magical equilibrium between quality and quantity. It's no wonder why the brewery is able to do this. They used to brew for the Trappists on contract, but when the Trappist name was restricted to beers originating inside the monasteries' walls, the brewery struck out on its own. St. Bernadus gives you a beer brewed in the Trappist tradition without the inflated price that accompanies the Trappist trademark. Sadly, I've found this beer difficult to obtain. I've visited several stores boasting plentiful Trappist inventories that neglected to carry St. Bernadus. I've only found it twice. I found it once at a DC restaurant boasting over 1000 beers, and once again at an out of the way liquor store in southeast Ohio. So if you are fortunate to chance upon it consider stocking up.

Two points to keep in mind when drinking these beers. One, despite their sweetness and smoothness these beers are strong (Abbot 12 is 10%ABV). So, take your time and savor the experience. Second, the sediment tends to be a bit unstable. There are several ways to deal with this. 1) You can leave the last ¼ of the beer in the bottle (what a waste). 2) Chill your beer below cellar temperature then pour it and let the yeast settle in the glass as it warms. Lastly, you can just pour the whole bottle in and drink the yeast, it won't kill you and you will get your daily dose of vitamin B.

I give all the beers above a 9.75/10 (N.B. I don't give 10s out to beers because the day I find the perfect beer, is the day I have nothing left to live for.)