Rochefort Trappistes 8

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

Smells like fresh hops - floral. Opaque brown almost black. Sweet dark malt taste with toffee tones and a touch of cinnamon-like spices. Full body and fizzy. Alcohol boosts the taste. Fantastic!

Bottle #2:
Dark brown with a prominent ruby tint. Dense light-tan head, fairly thin. Very musty aroma of pit fruit, malt, raisins, caramel and a slight spiceyness. Medium-bodied; Very carbonated; Inital strong flavours, fades quickly into a subtle taste. Aftertaste shows the musty character as well as some sweetness. Overall, a nicer nose than the first bottle, just lacking in taste a bit to me. Values for this rating: 9,4,7,3,15.

Bottle #1:
Hazy dark brown in colour with a very nice small-bubbled tan head. The smell is very sweet, ripe fruit and sugar dominate the aroma and make your mouth water. This one smells a lot less malty than Rochefort 10, which in my book would be a good thing. The taste is very fruity, but also very malty. The carbonation lingers on the tongue for quite a while and at the same time some other flavours (yeast & spices) linger on the palate. This beer is pretty similar to Rochefort 10 aside from the smell, with this having a little less malt overload and more fruity complexity. As 'hotstuff' said, I prefer Westy 12 to either Rochefort 10 or 8. A good beer, but not the best...in my books, that still belongs to Westy 12. Values for this rating: 9,5,8,4,18.

Hazy red-brown colour. Aroma of dark fruit, malt, berries and port. Sweet, malty flavour with hints of blackberry, apple and plum. Warm, boozy finish.

33cl bottle pours cloudy mahogony with a nice fluffy tan belgian head that stays pretty well and laces the sides of the trappist glass on the way down. Aroma is of apples, raisins, a touch of caramel, and chocolate. Flavor is nice roasty, touches of chocolate make their way through raisins, apples, figs, plums, and some yeasty bread. Palate is dreamy as expected from an abby brew. Light and airy yet so pleasant to hold in the mouth. A real treat to all of the senses..

33cl bottle marked 28 07 04 drank on 1/31/02: Muddy brown color, dark fruity taste, heavy alcohol aroma. While it is an exceptional beer, it is too pricey here in the USA, so order it from Belgium.

12 oz bottle. Pours a dark mahogany with a thick creamy off white head. Reserved much of the sediment inside bottle to be enjoyed after rating. Very fruity aroma, lots of plum and rasin especially. Vinous with yeast and belgian candi sugar, some alcohol as well but rather muted. Flavor is intensly fruity. Dark cherry, plum, raisin, very vinous and multi layered. Nice spicy and warming finish. No notion of alcohol in the flavor though. Fullbodied on the palate, creamy with moderate soft carbonation. Overall, a very complex and flavorful brew. I could drink this often.

Rating #250. 330mL bottle. Beautiful pour: dark, dark brown center; fluffy, off-white head with great retention and lacing. Plenty of yeast, brown sugar, and maple syrup in the aroma. Slightly over-carbonated mouthfeel; full, chewy palate: lots of yeast and esters, slightly vinous, dried fruits and plenty of alcohol. Long, sugary finish: belgian sugar with a light spiciness.

Best before date 29.04.08, Sampled October 2004.
Light tan head, brown, deep garnet color when held up to light. Aroma of raisins, figs, hint of cherry, and a light spiciness that includes notes of allspice, mace, and that spice that is cherry like. First taste so well integrated, and so intensely tasty, that I am glad that this is not like the last one that I had. The taste is redolent of bright fig notes, subtle spiciness, raisins, and a hint of cherry like acidity. It sort of reminds me of a rich hearty German black bread that is rich with notes of molasses. Also there are some very smooth, subtle notes of the finest rums. This is just so well integrated, so smooth, and so tasty.

Expiration Date April 2008, Sampled January 2004
Pours a beautiful ruby color. It is vry highly carbonated, which creates a thick creamy light brown-tan head. Aromas of dark fruit, rum, a certain spiciness, faintly musty, and alcolohol are all to be found in the nose. The taste is lightly sweet up front and finishes with a kick of alcohol. This beer has a light body considering the strength (as is characteristic of many Belgian beers), though it is perhaps is on the thin side.

This beer does not even come close to the character & depth of either the 6 or the 10 from Rochefort. A bit dissapointing really. There is some dark fruitiness in the taste, but it is somewhat muted, and there is a musty, perhaps wet cardboard, flavor, which makes me think that perhaps this beer has been mistreated. I can't quite place it as oxidation damage though. This beer should be strong enough to shrug off any rough treatment it recieves during importation though. I will definitely have to try another sample later for a rerate.