Rochefort Trappistes 8

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

Pours a very dark, yet not opaque brown amber. A huge light khaki head slowly dissipates and sticks along the way down for a nice lacing. Aroma is yeaty and spicy. Much like the 10, this is incredibly complex. Initial bitterness leads quickly into an array of dark fruits, maybe most prevelently plums. Also banana. Black licorice flavor was suprising and pleasant. A great spicyness leads into a soft bitterness in the finish. Light mouthfeel is accompanied by soft yet lively carbonation. Once again, a fanatstic brew from the Trappists. Almost as good as the 10, but I’m still partial. Still one of the best I’ve ever had.

Had this beer on 4/14/2007. Aroma is a light sweet malt scent. Color is a solid brown with good carbonation and a nice thick tight head. Taste is sweet and fruity. Starting with a full medium body it goes down easy with a light feel. Finish comes on with a sweet malt flavor that has back tones of caramel and a faint fruity hint. This is all comes to an end with a alcohol feel. Overall I feel its an excellent brew, it doesn’t have that Abbey flavor like the Chimay’s have but it is a good Belgian brew that is full of flavor. I like this one better then the 10 although it seems to be a milder version.

Dark brown with a tall fizzy head that dissipates to a layer of creamy bubbles laying on the top. Aroma is sweet, lots of dark fruits, some brown sugar, and yeast. Flavor has a creaminess in the front, plenty of sweet malt, and a caramel finish. An absolute treat.

This is nice- however the 10 is much better. It’s almost like the 8 and the 10 are like night and day. I look for strong flavor profiles- the best beers will exude them right away. this one does, but it is the more softer spoken cousin of the "10" in my estimation. A’ Votre’ Sante!

[Rated 1.16.08] Dark mahagany pour with fine head. Wonderful nutty aroma of cookie dough and a tiny bit of vinegar. I see why some people like this the best of the three. More flavor than the 6 but a little more mellow than the 10. The flavors dont seem to be as deep and complex as the 10 but are still very good. Lots of sweet and dry nuts, spicy malt, and I do taste a little plum in the finish. Extremely airy body, slightly sticky finish. Fine carbonation keeps it light and tingly but not too extreme. Hides the alcohol a lot better than the 10 also. 9.5.9.5.18 [Rerated 3.15.09] So for a mere 1.25 Euro I received a 15cl pour of this at ZBF, who could pass that up? Unfortunately, everyone who tasted it thought it was quite off, a sugary mess, obviously very young, so this begs for a rerate. From bottle, pours a clear glowing reddish brown that is way too dark to see thru with a small thick fizzy dense patchy froth. Fantastic aroma, quite rich and doughy, dark fruits, bitter and yeasty draws parallels to the westy. First taste is very dry with a touch of alcohol, bitter, then sweet and nutty. This is quite fantastic and I’m glad what I tasted at ZBF was not completely representative. Flavor again has similarities to the westy 8. As is warms flavors become nearly burnt toffee, candi sugar, alcohol blends nicely, nutty, doughy, with a bitter dark fruit plum yeasty finish, almost licorice. A tad too much alcohol and flavors maybe too subdued. Full mouthful, medium/full body with sharp abundant medium fluffy carbonation, a bit too airy at first but then it settles down. I’m starting to think that I actually like the 6 the best??? oy (I have a few aging so maybe it’ll make its way back into my top 10 in good time) 9.5.9.4.17

Pours brown with nice beige medium head. Complex aroma with spicy notes, overripe fruits, malt and chocolate. Very complex and spicy flavor with malt and chocolate.

This is one great Belgian! I would say it ranks right behind St. Bernardus 12 in my book. It is better than Rochefort 10! The pour was dark brown with some red mixed in, and a nice tan head that stuck around for eternity and left tons of lacing. The aroma was light and sweet. The taste was superior--lots of creaminess in this one, but very light at the same time. This belgian is very drinkable, especially for a 9.3% ABV. The finish was light and full of taste. Great hops and some fruits mixed in there as well. Can’t wait to have another."

I found this similiar to what reverse fellatio might be like. I felt my mouth getting that type of pleasure. It’s the nicest beer I’ve ever tasted.