Rochefort Trappistes 8

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

My second favorite. Every bit as good as the #10 just without the warmth. Excellent start to finish. Light a good cigar and relax under the stars with this ale.

33cl bottle. Brown and opaque body, large white head, excellent lacing. A lot of light brown sediments at the bottom of my glass. Molasses, spices and alcohol aroma. Taste is cacao, burn caramel, brown sugar, woody. Alcohol is present and pleasant. Finish is dry and chalky with a light astringency. A very earthy and complex beer. Lives up to its reputation and it’s now part of my diet. A balanced diet is a Rochefort 8 in one hand and a Rochefort 10 in the other.

From bottle at The Bier Garden, Portsmouth, VA. Deep, cloudy brown with a light brown head. Sweet caramel-fruit nose. Complex, dark fruits - fig, date, raisin all sprinkled in brown sugar. Gets even more complex as it warms in the glass, the malts and caramel come through. Silky mouthfeel leaves your mouth aching for more, as the flavors hang in your mouth, you don’t want it to end. Better, I think, just slightly, than the 10 - same beautiful flavors, no alcohol burn to interfere. Just pure beauty...

The best dark Trappist ale in my view, together with Westvleteren 8 and Rochefort 10. A very balanced beer with an extremely rich taste. Hints of chocolate, coffee, burning wood and ripe dark fruits in the taste and aroma. This beer does not disappoint and is great after a good meal. A classic!

Had this after the 10, in many ways I actually like the 8 better. As all three Rocheforts use the same recipe, the appearance is about the same, beautiful, burgandy-brown with a tan head that laces and never completely goes away. The smell has a little more plum and less of the hint of alcohol the 10 has. The taste is almost the same, with that same incredible finish and smoothness that I will love forever like a long lost lover. I find the 8 a little less decadent and more drinkable.

Fantastic in all respects. Complex, balanced, earthy, diverse fruits without excess acidity. Beautiful nose, head, finish. Can’t think of anything wrong except perhaps a touch too sweet.

Dark, hazy reddish brown. Thick foam of a light tan rests on the surface. a much richer head than the Rochefort 10. sweet flavors of malt. Honey and roasted almonds. this beer tastes just like candy. The roasted nuts and pecans you get at the fest. magical beer. I would rather have the 8 on a more common basis than the stronger darker 10.

Aroma is of toasted malts and lightly plumby with earthy overtones, Pours murky dark brown with a frothy light brown mostly lasting head. It has a good balance of sweet and bitter, earthy and plumb flavors initally and finishes a bit bitter, medium to full bodied creamy and livley.