Westvleteren 6

Formerly brewed at Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
Style: Belgian Ale
Westvleteren, Belgium

At Kulminator, 1998 bottle given to me by an English guy who did not like it. I could not believe my eyes, as I was happy just to have a cap. Pours a slightly cloudy brown with a small lacy off-white head. Aroma showed some signs of light oxidation, while also giving some candy, caramel and peach. Fluffy light feel in the mouth, really fragile feeling to it. Flavours of old fruits and a moderate bitterness. Thin finish. Probably would have been a pretty great beer fresh, but it seems age had taken hold of my bottle a little. Still a great experience to try.

1995: Pour is hazed brownish amber with a dense tan head...smell is instantly funky and lightly sour...what a treat!...a nice musty funk creeps into your nose...definately some nuts and figs too, but just a wonderful subtle sourness...taste was dry and lightly cobwebby, with a hint of sweetness dancing around the sour yeasty flavor...the finish was slow and lingering and perfect for what this beer is...wow...I would rather drink this than blonde, 8, or 12...costly, but worth it.

Bottle provided by Walt. Beer has a milky/chalky amber look. Scant head. Aroma is dominated by floral spiciness. Mouthfeel was smooth but somewhat thinner than expected. Flavor was mostly bitterness.

At Kulminator, still many for sale but only the 1998 (last year it was brewed). Cloudy dark ruby body with a medium off-white head. Dried fruits, liquorice, cinnamon bun, some spices, dusty chest. Taste of dry tree leaves/branches in the finish. Pleasant silky body. A good beer but nothing special. Slightly overrated. If Celine Dion’s CDs were extremely rare they would be probably be highly rated by music collectors.

Bottled - Kulminator- Antwerpen - 1998 vintage. A nice chestnut brown coloured beer with a decent beige coloured head. The aroma is showing signs of age as there are some musty notes amongst the chocolate and fruity smells. A touch of sourness also. The taste is woody and slightly sour. Again a little mustiness. Leather armchairs in need of a dust. Some chocolate. A real treat to pick up and very tasty still after 8 years.

1998 vintage at the Kulminator (RBLCM). Dark brown colour, stable medium beige head. Malt, coffee, raisins, dried fruit, caramel. Malty flavour of caramel, alcohol, fruits, butter. Dry finish.

Bottle. Dark crown colour with a beige head. Aroma is candi-sugar, dried fruit, cellar-notes. Flavour is alcohol,cellar-notes, yeast, fruits, candisugar.

Bottled, one at Kulminator and one at home. (1998 vintage) Rating no 1000. Murky, dark brown with a tiny beige head. Berries, at least blackcurrant, caramel, candi-sugar, dried fruits, coffee-notes and cellar-notes in the aroma. Berries, dried fruit, candisugar, hints of lightly roasted grain, yeast, some alcohol and caramel flavor. Delicious. You should have the whole bottle to get all the nuances in the beer, as the sediments adds a good deal of aroma, flavor and looks. It has a full, sweet body, and the finish has some alcohol and sweetness. The two bottles I had, both came from Kulminator, was supposed to be the same vintage and stored the same way, yet tasted differently. Could someone convince the monks that they should start brewing it again? (060801: 8-4-8-3-15-3.8) (060714)