Rochefort Trappistes 8

Brewed by Brasserie Rochefort
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Rochefort, Belgium

Rating #50? Pours a dark brown, with ample light yellow styrofoam head. Not cold enough? Aroma is solidly of citrus and raisins. Sweet taste, far superior to the 6. Bananas mixed with raisins and anise and darl malts. Yummy. I’m drinking it warmer than it was likely intended, and so I am probably missing something. Even so, a wonderful beer. Plenty of body and an absolutely balanced mouthfeel. If I had more, I would drink it.

From 330 ml bottle into chalice. Pours a deep, cloudy brown. Drinking this at around 55-60 degrees. Not as much "silt" as the 6 had. Moderate carbonated head mostly diminishing, but not as much as the 6. Lacing throughout as opposed to zero for the 6. I am drinking a beer that the gods long for! I agree with another reviewer - the aroma is pretty mellow, more to me than the 6. Malty, figs, raisin, alcohol evident on the palate and in the finish. With that said this is quite an enjoyable brew - wow! It has me standing erect and saying "aye man this is beer - down with the wine laddie". Do the monks drink this before, or after Mass? Cheers to the Trappist Monks at Rochefort, Belgium! I think I’m hammered!

Pours a cloudy medium brown with a large beige head, and some rather large bits of silt. Aroma is mellow, but extremely complex and ever-changing, sweet dark fruit, rasins, yeast, toasted malt, leather, licorice, banana, and some brown sugar. Flavor is amazingly mellow and complex. Very similar to aroma, but with a tad more licorice, and light alcohol. Finish is VERY clean. This is a little bit different than the 10, more mellow.

Incredible....one word that springs to mind after tasting this beer. Pour oif deep amber-brownish colour with a large off white head. The beer itself is cloudy. Aroma of banana, fruits, grass, malts, candy. An extremely complex nose and appearance. Taste is just as complex as the aroma. Some spiciness in the taste as well as bounds of malty fruity tastes. Its hard to find the individual tastes in this beer because its all so complex. Overall, an extremely rich and incredible beer.

This thing is a religious experience. I prefer it to the ten, I find it more balanced and 3-dimensional. On the one hand: This thing was all soft edges, slick in the mouth, soft rich maltiness, pruneau or something, a little bit of smooth (debittered) chocolate. On the other hand: very spicy and dry, with a firm bitterness. Unmasked hot alcohol, at one moment even too much; very warming, with phenols reminiscent of spicy cinnamon (pungent cinnamon, not powdered) and even cardamom. Oh my god. I expect the people I was staying with thought I was crazy. I was doing stuff like sniffing my sleeve to clear my nose, swirling it and covering the top to collect volatiles, rolling it around my mouth. Neither of them wanted any (!!). The 33cl at 9.3% is the perfect amount of this beer, it’s exactly enough to experience it. So if you’re holding onto one of these - don’t share.

This one bounds ahead of the 6 with dark fruits present in aroma and flavor, along with jute in aroma and notable flavor of Grapenuts cereal. Pours darker, tastes rich.

Bouteille de 330 ml. Nos yeux contemplent cette bière de couleur brune avce des reflets acajoux ainsi qu’un col de mousse brunâtre parfait. Au nez on découvre des arômes très complexes de chocolat, de raisins rouges, de lilas, d’alcool, de fruits rouges confîts et d’épices. En bouche le corps est rond et soyeux avec une effervescence faible-moyenne. Nos papilles gustatives sont submergées par des saveurs de chocolat, de raisins rouges, de fruits confîts, de sucre, de grain grillé, de prunes et pour finir on percoit une touche d’alcool. Vraiment Excellent !!!!

33cl bottle in chalice. Dark brown with big head. Laces a bit. Small retention (maybe too cold). Aroma is rich, sweet, dark fruits. cherryish, Some alcohol also. Hints of raisins. Good amount of carbonation. Hints of alcohol but not too much. A bit dry on the finish and a bit bitter. Nice balance. Malty, a tiny bit spicy. Really feels like the 10 without all the warmth. Would have to have them back to back to be sure. Rating #100 !!!