Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Bottle courtesy of OldStyleCubFan and his somewhat mysterious contact in Brugges. Thanks Todd! Poured into a Westmalle glass. Pours cloudy and brown with a small off-white head that remains swirling on the surface of the beer for quite some time. Subtle raisin, toffee, bread and yeast aroma. Very light in feel despite being full bodied. Effervescent. Taste is bread, yeast and a nice fruitiness. Nice balance.

Bottle. Dark brown with a beige and foamy head. Lovely aroma of cherries, raisins, yeast and sweet malt. Deep and sweet flavor of rye bread, raisins and hints of banana. Nicely balanced and does have a little refreshing kick from hops. Well hidden ABV. Caramel on the palate. A great experience!

10year old ’98 vintage! @ Blue Tusk. Bottle. Room Temp-60-65 degrees f. Murky, Dark brown w/ floaties. Thick soapy off-white head. Apricot, toffee, caramel, and biscuit malt in the aroma. Warming. So effing good I just blew my mind! Like paradise in a glass. I think I paid between $10-15 for the bottle....so worth it! I would have paid more for this experience.

Thanks to ygtbsm94 for sending this great beer all the way from beer heaven-Brussels. Pours a dark brown with a thick and fluffy cream colored head. The aroma dominated by a sweet fruity aspect, almost like watermelons and pears. Also some yeast and raisin. The flavor was similar; fruit, a dry malt, yeast, and almost no notice of alcohol. The body really makes this so damn good; it’s creamy and smooth, just perfect. No doubt this is a great beer. If only I could drink a Westy everyday.

Bottle thanks to toncatcher for saving this and sharing with me. Not quite what I was expecting. A bit watery but lots of flavor happening. Some ripening fruits in the flavor, yeast and some spice.

Pours brown with a 1 inch tan head. Aroma very yeasty and bready. Flavors of yeast, malt,and caramel. It was good but no Westy 12.

(3/4/08) Bottle at Kulminator in Antwerp. Best before 2/11 (then, I think, bottled on 2/08). Very dark brown, rather opaque, with a huge beige shaving foam-like head. Aroma of alcohol, yeast, some fruits, a bit spice, a bit of malt and hints of caramel. Sweet flavor of malt, caramel, dark fruits and a bit of yeast (much less than in the nose) Medium to full body. Very good, but doesn’t come close to its big brother the 12.

Reddish brown with a huge grey head. Aroma of fresh grassy hops, spice and dark bread. Complex flavours make this one of the very best Belgian strong ales, perhaps only surpassed by its bigger brother: berries, oak, red grapes, caramel, spice and nuts. Amazing mouthfeel too, with a full body playing along with tiny carbonation bubbles. --- [Vintage 2004, sampled in 2007] Unclear brown with a nice head. Aroma of berries, caramel and spices. The flavour is sweet and very complex with notes of caramel, overripe fruits and spices. It has aged perfectly!