Westvleteren Extra 8

Brewed by Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Westvleteren, Belgium

Big thanks to Brad. Amazingly, a darker pour than the 12, really deep brown, a creamy beige head. Aroma of prunes, figs, some maple syrup. Not really a massive burst of fruits and sugars like the 12. Flavor has that really rich, elegant, clean alcohol sugar purity, fresh and exciting. There are a lot of figs, and a slight bittering component of hops on the back end that isn’t necessarily welcome here. A little too much carbonation, but still creamy and smooth. Over-ripe bananas play a role as the beer warms. The comparisons to the 12 are inevitable -- this is less of everything but still delicious.

Bottle from Brad. Thanks brad. Dark brown almost black in color, good size head. Weak aroma of raisons and some sugar. Taste is smooth... Dark fruits, sugar. Reminds me more of a quad. I think it is better then the westy 12. The texture is perfect. Creamy and smooth, rolls right off the tounge. Over all good beer.

Cola brown with an active light tan finger of head and tons of swirling yeast sediment and carbonation. Head settles quickly with no lacing. Aroma of dark pruny fruits some earthy sweet candy sugar and a light spiciness but definitely not as ’full’ as the Abt 12. Very light mouthfeel, doughy, more candi sugar followed by a mix of figs, prunes and alcohol. Slight saltiness and nuttiness. A little too thin in the finish for me.

Blindtasted with Wetsvleteren 12 and Rochefort 10. Definetly a lesser beer than the other two and the one we had must have been relativly fresh tapped. Brown with a huge light brown head that stayed in the glass. Aroma was abit disapointing, caramel malts mixed with dusty hops and only a little bit of dark fruits. Gains some character in the flavor, smooth caramel and toffee along with raisin and a decent bitterness.

Bottle at Kulminator. Rich dark brown with a decent medium-tan head with pretty good staying power. Aroma of heavy/sweet dark, earthy fruits. Flavor followed suit, but with a spice that wasn’t super noticeable in the aroma. Stuck to the palate, but in a good way. Rich, full mouthfeel that did not fade. Excellent and well worth the not so great euro exchange rate.

Poured from a bottle brought home from a recent Belgian trip. The color is dark brown with a moderate tan head. Sublime aromas of malty goodness. Medium full body and oh so smooth. Complex flavors of caramel malt, fig, raisin, and traces of ETOH. .Great long finishing touches. Superb.

Courtesy of Tony @ OTH. Pours a dark brown, beige head. Aroma sweet caramel, dark fruits. Taste sugary / caramel, sweet dark fruits (raisin, figs), a lower version than the Westie12. Smooth mouthfeel. Beer really live sup to its reputation.

Either a flawed bottle was shared or the ratings on this are due to the brewery’s reputation only. Pours dark murky brown with a dense soapy head. The aroma has brown sugar, dough, Belgium yeast, cream and rich dark toffee. Medium / thin body with lots of carbonation. The flavor starts with some dark thick caramel and some yeast, then it thins out and the abv is very present. This is a well made beer, but far from the legendary status it has.