Westvleteren 6

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

bottle(1995 vintage), #600, pours a murky light brown with a tall tan head. Aroma is slightly ode bruin in character, red wine, some fig and raisin notes, slightly spicy with some yeast rounding it out. Only a slight amount of oxidization in the form of a sour sting with some cardboard. There is still a fair amount of malt character in the body, some fruity yeast esters and a apple skin kind of finish. Overall very pleased, but I wish I could have tried this fresh. The carbonation is moderate with a crisp mouthfeel, still got a nice pssst when opening.

Bottle. Thanks to DeDolleWaitor! Reddish brown color with almost no head. The aroma is of berries, yeast, cellaring, caramel and oxidized. The flavour is dusty, malty and spicy.

Thanks Dedollewaiter, from 1993 - 16 years vintage.[Bottle @ Odense Tasting, 14th February 2009, remembered for Carsten BeerMouths fantastic 3 meals highend gastronomy.] Although it’s long time I’ve tasted these brewdrops I remember it like a brew from Fantome. Dusty, earthy, sour and very complex. Great brew!

My Rating number 2500. BB 06/98. Old trade with Yespr. Thanks a lot. Pours amber/reddish with a small white fading head. Nose is slight sourish and oxidized. Besides of that a good deal of caramel, fruit and yeast. Some dusty & earthy cellar notes but not in an unpleasant way. Probably a bit over the hill but still has the Westvleren complexity. Dry end with an medium and soft mouthfeel. Shared with the RB locals Feb. 09.

Bottle (from 1996) at Akkurat in Stokholm. I had been searching for this beer for awhile and it took a trip to Sweden to find it. Beer poured a deep amber color with a slight haze in the body but fairly clear. The aroma was earthy and a bit scotchy. The taste was sweet, almost port like. This beer appears to have held up very well as there was still a malty character to the beer but no real hop presence as expected. Overall a damn find beer that is worth the cost to me.

My Bottom Line:
This 11-year-old dark Belgian Ale obviously offers plenty of wet cardboard notes atop its grapey fruitiness and light roastiness, yet its fluffy mouthfeel and high drinkability must have made it very endearing when fresh. Farewell Westy 6.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-An impressive foam cream protects the cloudy brown.
-The grape-like fruitiness is very much Welch-juice like.
-This must have been very good when it was in better form (read: younger), but right now, I wouldn’t order another, even at the Kulminator. I guess it’s too late, unless you are studying oxidation.
-The mouthfeel was its best feature, which I admit I didn’t expect for such an old, modest brew.

1998 bottle bought at the Kulminator and shared a most generous pal, Dany; merci beaucoup!!!

Tasted at In de Vrede, quite some time ago. Dark brown color, medium tan head. Flavor of malt, raisins and dates. Maybe a bit of nuts. Slight sourness in the finish.

The bottle looks really good. No label - which brewery can do that? The beer is quite dark, not much foam. Starts spicy, a little bit woody, also a bit earthy. The finish is almost a bit vapid, for a short moment spicy again. I think the beer is already a bit over its top. Big thanks to yespr for the bottle!