Westmalle Extra

Brewed by Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle
Style: Belgian Ale
Malle, Belgium

2008-03-06. 2000 Vintage. Golden yellow body with a nice white head, and a few floaties in the glass, rings of lace linger on the glass as you drink. Sweet flavour, floral notes with grainy not quite cardboardy notes that make me wonder if they are signs of oxidation. Dusty grains. Aroma has similar dusty dry grains, light grassy straw notes. . Overall it grows on me as it goes along, but its on the mild side, perhaps due to age or perhaps it was always this way.
Bottle at De Heeren van Liedekercke, Liedekercke

Bottle courtesy of Fonefan: Poured a clear golden color ale with a huge foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of dry malt base with a floral hoppy touch as well. Taste is a mix between some dry malt base with some Poppering hops, which provide a slightly dry finish with some floral notes. Full body with some great carbonation. Definitely an interesting beer to try and a refreshing Belgian ale that would be fun to try more often but in the end I would go to the Westy blonde instead of this.

Bonus bottle from fonefan on 11/14/2007. Pours with a big white medium bubble head that fades slowly to a dense thin cloud over a light cloudy yellow liquid. There is small amount of yeast on the bottom of the bottle. Carbonation level is high. Dry. A hint of sour bitterness on the tongue. Lots of phenolic aroma. Tastes like a high temperature fermentation. I wish it was a little sweeter.

33 cL bottle, from trade with fonefan. Pours slight hazy yellow with a dense white head. Slight citrus fruity, light grassy/hoppy. Flavour is light hoppy, mild yeast note with a slight spice angle. Quite fresh hoppy with a light spice note into the finish. Solid bitterness and dry in the far finish.

Bottle. [thank you, Yespr]
Pours a light pale and quite hazy yellow. A great frothy white head with great lacing. Aroma is fresh, citric with sweet wheat, ginger and a bit of mild pepper. Lively mouthfeel, perhaps a little thin. Flavour is sweet with a quite surprising bitter and dry finish. Very refreshing.

Bottled. Pale golden bubbly creamy white head leaving a good lacing. Nice citrus, yeasty and fruity aroma. Good bit thin mouthfeel. Soft fresh yeasty citrus flavour with a pleasant soft dry bitterness and fruitiness. Thanks a lot for this treat yespr.

{Courtesy of yespr, session @ yespr] Pale golden with large white head. Fresh fruity aroma with citrus, grains and yeast. Fresh grassy flavor with subtle fruit and yeast notes. Ends dry with light bitterness.

Bottle. [Courtesy of yespr, another great session @ yespr] Huge fine bubbly white head that mostly lasted. Light cloudy orange – yellow colour. Good display of lacework. Aroma of orange peel, citrus, fruit, hint of dusty grain, straw. Initial sniff gives the impression of a very fresh ale. Over the palate a very citrus and floral feel. Medium bodied with an average carbonation and light dry texture. Well balanced between the sweet and acidic flavour. Light citrus like sweet finish with a lingering floral touch. Excellent and very drinkable.