Rating: 4.5/5

St. Bernardus Extra 4 by Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV is a 4.8% ABV Belgian Pale Ale/Belgian Single.

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Extra 4 is a classic Belgian “Single” style, light golden in color, full of flavor and character and brewed with more hops and bitterness in comparison to the other well known St Bernardus abbey ales. Extra 4 will be brewed with high fermentation and bottled conditioned with an ABV of 4.8%. Extra 4 will be a unique, tasty and refreshing spring and summer quencher with a lower alcohol content than such other popular St Bernardus products as Abt 12, Tripel and Prior 8.
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I never knew the Single style was actually Belgian pale ale. Dubbels are brow, Tripels can be light or hazy and Quads Dark and Strong. But Belgian Pale Ales are closer to the Golden Ales or Golden Blondes. I feel like I learn something with every beer I try and I am glad I can bring this knowledge to you. St. Bernardus beers are typically world class and some of the best beers out there and the number 12 is simply the best! Cheers and hope you enjoy my review!

Aromas:
Biscuit Bread, grains, vanilla, honey, caramel, peppercorns, sage spice, floral, grassy and herbal hops, citrus, lemon zest, lemon peel, clove spice, banana hints, honey comb, waffle cone, stone fruit and coriander spice.

Flavors:
Honey, bananas, clove spice, peppercorns, citrus, lemon peel, vanilla, dulce de leche caramel hints from the yeast they use, grassy and herbal hops, stone fruits hints of peaches, apricots and plums, sage spice, coriander spice and waffle cone.

Aftertaste:
Honey, biscuit bread, herbal and grassy hop linger for only a little bit before they dry. No alcohol in the taste whatsoever, easy to moderate drinkability, hazy medium body, light to moderate mouth feel, crisp and refreshing. Definitely for the summer.

Overall:
Very good indeed and not as heavy as other Belgian beers in terms of the full mouth feel or higher ABV. This is supposed to be lighter on purpose and is possibly the first time I try a Belgian ‘Single’, that is, if the Golden Ale, Belgian Pale or Belgian Blonde style were not the style referred here. Even though the flavors do math similarly to that of those styles. Either way, this is something I can definitely see myself drinking several on a summer day for sure. Still getting those nice Belgian flavors at a lower ABV. I would definitely recommend you try this out and see how you like this one.

Anime Corner:
Ryuko Matoi from Kill La Kill in her Super Saiyan/Fashion Week Mode was used in this pairing because I wanted to one of my four favorite anime characters in a St. Bernardus beer. If you look at my other St. Bernardus beers, you will find that I paired 1 of the 4 with one of the beers, except Tokyo since that one is unique. Anyways, when I heard this beer was coming out and I heard it was a beer style I had not heard before, I figured, this version of Ryuko is perfect for that golden ale. While she is more powerful than the ABV this beer carriers, the flavor is where the strength lies in.

Sources:
http://i.imgur.com/feUANQf.jpg