Westvleteren 6

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

Much thanks to egajdzis for this vintage brew from ’91. Appears a dark hazy chestnut with a small off white head that fades into a small collar. There is no lacing left around the glass. Smell is of dusty, corky, caramel, brown sugar, with oak, nuts, and dark fruit swirling in there. Taste is of the same aromas with the yeast jumping out. Mouthfeel is mildly thin with the yeast standing out amongst everything else along the palate. Starts out sweet on the front of the tongue, fading into a mild dull bitter with a very faint sourness that’s hardly noticable. Finishes slightly slick at the swallow.

33cl bottle, vintage 1998
Consumed at Kulminator, Antwerp, May 2006 (8 years cellared)
Has a very aged and musty smell, you can definitely tell its age, and the oxidized notes are present, though thankfully they are not distracting because that is something that can easily ruin a beer for me. Scents of scotch, creamy caramel malts, flavors are similar, with some oaky wood flavors as well... frothy texture, but overall dominated by a mellow scotch presence, which combines well with and accentuates the slight oxidation.

Bottle. 1998 vintage. Pours a mahogany-brown with a medium, creamy off-white head and lace. The aroma has soapy spice, dark/toasty malts, caramel, and perhaps a touch of chocolate toffee in the distance. Soft, creamy body - the caramel shows up though it’s not particularly sweet in the least. If anything, it’s almost bland. Soft carbonation with flavours of caramel and chocolate. Almost a session in many respects due to the low alcohol and lack of overwhelming flavours. Pretty good but not as mind-blowing as some of the others from this great brewery. Tasted at Kulminator on May 17, 2006.

Bottle@Bier Circus, Brussels. Aroma of dark fruits, toffee, and a noticable nuttyness. These flavours correspond to the palate. This is lightly sweet, with some soft acidity in the finish. But this is soft, complex and the flavour seems to go on forever, this was a real treat.

Bottle at Kulminator. Deep brown in color with a nice lacing. Sweet malty aroma. Yeasty malty flavor. Lemony notes. Medium bodied. Well balanced. Finish is malty. Very nice. Wow. What a treat...

Botlle at Kulminator. What a treat to see this on a freakin beer menu, but this is what the trip to mecca is all about. Sweet, dry, nutty and caramel with a still lively head and lots of lacing. Some lemon lime flavor but still that Westy yeast leaves you yearning for more. I have no idea how much I paid for this but I’d do it again easily. Next trip I suppose there will be more.

1998 vintage one of the lastbrewed 6, over the top to me... To acidic and sour. I liked them a lot younger.

(Bottled@Kulminator, 1998 vintage) Dark red color with a large, tanned and tight head, Immensely fruity, slightly vinous aroma with lots of blackcurrant and figs. Smoothly malty, grainy flavor with fruit and some oakiness. Some stingy bitterness remaining. Peppery! Smoother with yeast, but still with some stinginess. Medium-bodied, smooth and creamy palate with quite low carbonation. A classy brew overall, but hard to say if it’s better than fresh one.