Bottle from beer swap 2.0 - dark burgundy pour, with impressive head that clings to the sides of the glass - aroma of overripe dark fruits and some light spices - the flavor is much more dry than I expected, with a slight vinous character - the alcohol is pretty present, but not unpleasant - some light hints of cocoa and some wildflower (heather mostly) - a bit of earthy/cobweb character - semi-dry finish with some spicy hops - unique, but not worth the scratch.

Bottle at LCRBM 2, Kulminator, Antwerp, Belgium
Hazy brown body. Aroma of pears, liquor, ... Moderately sweet, lightly sweet initial flavour, a lot of esters. This tasted so much different to me than the ordinary Bernardus Abt, I’m confused. Need to try it again!

2006 bottle drunk on 9/2/06.
Large, dark-beige head displays enormous amounts of bottle fermentation, as it rises up rapidly with even a careful pour and is quite stubborn in receding. Lacing dosent seem as prominent as I would have expected, but that’s marginal. Sediment remains in the bottle, leaving a medium to medium-high clarity in this caramel-tinted mahogany body, with strong magenta highlights. Streams of carbonation surge upwards violently in the liquid.
Prunes, burnt raisins, over-dried figs and even a smidgeon of black malt tar are forceful up front, delivering some strong blows before being calmed down by a moderate caramel-toffee sweetness and finally ending on an odd mix of bubble gum and dry grainy/bready malts. Lightly dry anise notes arise on the finish, with warming and seem to overdry things, while through the middle of the aroma, candi-sweet sugariness seems too much in the other direction. Cellar-like mustiness pervades the entire experience, while a mix of raw and esterized fusels are certainly noticeable within about 10 minutes.
Initially some acids are felt, probably hop-derived, though spicy/sharp phenols muddle things and I can’t be sure. Raw graininess, like bare vinousness must be a product of the yeast and black malts, but it seems to attack the palate, the spritzy, aggressive carbonation doing nothing to mitigate. The malts (and heavy candi-sugar residue) come on strong, and rather abruptly, teeming with huge toffee, caramel and thick honey sweetness. Glimpses of black, anise-like dryness are seen as well. The finish ends with light to moderate acidity, a fair amount of bitterness and plenty of cotton candy/bubble gum and light peppery phenols (and dosent leave much an aftertaste....). Musty yeast is quite apparent, though by no means unpleasant (to me). Aside from the surge of syrupiness in the middle, the mouthfeel seems all over the place, at times dry, lean and grainy/papery, and then frothy, aerated and overcarbonated. In time, no doubt, this should come together to prove much more cohesive than it is now. Hopefully, anyways, because this stuff is just crude and unfinished as it is. Figgy.
Will check back in a year and see how it’s doin.

Chestnut brown. Alcoholic, plummy, peachy, brown sugar aroma. Chocolatey, plummy, fruity flavour with hints of malt and alcohol. Tasted side-by-side with regular Bernaruds Abt 12 this is distinctly fuller, bigger in body and flavour.