Rochefort Trappistes 8

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

Bottle. Pours dark brown with a tall frothy tan head and some lined lacing. Aroma is fragrant, floral, fruity hops, dark fruit (prune, raisin) and dark chocolate, caramel malt, tawny port, yeast (earth) and wood. Medium bitter port flavor, moderate acidity that dries, low sweetness, malty, earthy and wood notes. Dark bodied, warm and fizzy palate.

Sweet, dry, spicy at the same time. Smells of malt and candy sugar. An explosion of taste. Very close to the ultimate beer!

Bottle. Pours a hazy dark reddish-brown with a small fizzy diminishing tan head. Aroma of caramel, apples, raisins, chocolate, alcohol and more -- as usual with the Rocheforts it smells wonderful. Flavour follows the scent and is so complex that many sips would have a different description. I found the palate a tad harsh compared to the 10 which is odd because the 10 is stronger in alcohol -- it might have just been the mood I was in (I just noticed that ’fordest’ below me said the same thing in his review so maybe there’s some validity to what I wrote). A truly excellent beer and one of the best in the world.

Nice dark tan color with great white bubbly head. Yeatsy taste and nose. A tad on the sweet side.

Pours a dark brown reddish with lots of floaties. Large lacing tan head that stuck around the whole time. Aroma is caramel, dark fruits, roasted malts and raisons. Could sense the alchol in the aroma as it warmed up. Flavor is dark fruits with the roasted malts coming out in the tail. Carbonation on the tongue. Less alcohol in the taste compared to the 10. Very smooth and nice. I really enjoyed this. Similar to the 10, but stepped down a bit.

First of all, I very, very much liked this brew versus the Rochefort 10. This was a much smoother tasting Rochefort than the 10. It poured a large invigorating tan head with fine-small bubbles. It had a fruity aroma to it and the lacing on the sides of my glass was fair. The body was light brown, yeasty, and murky. This was one fine smooth and enjoyable drink. However, I still prefer a Westy 12 over a Rochefort.

Had this at 't Brugs Beertje on 5-15-03. Pretty dark brown with a puffy tan head. Smell and taste reveals figs, raisins, licorice, and spice. Nice mouthfeel and aftertaste. The 9.3% didn't seem noticeable to me.

Complex beer, with a big head, liquorice flavours with a citric aroma. Even a slight rosemary scent comes through.