Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Bottle sampled at cellar temperature for #600. Body is a very dark brown color with a massive ammount of tan head. Aromas are a bit weak... earth, yeast, a slight tartness, etc. Flavors are a very nice mixture of earthy/nutty/chocolaty tones with a sweetness that I can’t really describe other than by saying it is a creamy sweetness... more like condensed milk than any sort of sugar. Finish is smooth as can be and there is enough of a warmth from the ABV to let you know that it is for real. Merry Christmas to all!

Rated from memory. Sampled Dec. 18/07 (thanks Ben!). So fruity and deep and luscious. Heavy on the grapes/raisins/dates, more stone fruit than dried fruit, really. An enigmatic herbal perfume as well. It continues to please in the mouth with a huge burst of deep, rich flavours. The alcohol is present, but only to enrich the whole experience. Sweet and decadent and absolutely lovely in every way. I truly hope to get a small stash of all the "Westies" to call my own for special occasions.

For rating #200, something a little bit special. Pours a rather dark brown with garnet edges and a 1/2 inch thick head which settles to a dense pocked foam; initially yeasty and bready on the nose, but slowly unraveling into fresh grape, dark berries, mild roasted malts and some fresh spunky hops. Perhaps a little thin on the palate but well carbonated, pretty dry, brown sugar starts and is quickly followed by fresh dough, complex perfumy characters, some vanilla sweetness just before a prickly herbal hop presence develops, cleaning the palate and suggesting more. If this is the 8, I can’t wait to try the 12.

Dark brown, cloudy, big brown creamy foam. Nice appearance! A well balanced flavor - rather sweet in the beginning but with a long hoppy finish. It has a full body, is rather creamy and has an average carbonation. All in all a very nice beer though it’s missing the last kick in the a** from the Abt 12.

(33cl bottle, fresh sample) Cloudy, mahogany coloured, effervescent hue with a big and persistent beige foamy head. Yeasty, moderately sweet and toasty dark malt aroma with a light fruity touch of dark berries (blackcurrant), accompanied by alcohol, chocolate, coffee and a light tinge of hops. Strong dark malty taste, moderately roasted and sweet flavour, bready and rather subtle fruity. Quite dry, but also slightly sugary sweet malty finish with shy hoppy notes and warming alcohol. Not a taste bomb but a very rounded and complex Trappist Ale.

Bottle, Average light brown head, mostly lasting. Heavy malty aroma. Notes of brown sugar and caramel. Medium body. A bit metalic and bitter flavor.

A very nice beer, not as good as the Abd 12. But I have to say there is alot nice beers from Belgium that is better than this one West Malle is more tasty and got more flavores.

Rating Number 1000

Huge thanks to theisti for this bottle.

The pour is very dark brown with some garnet highlights when held to light. The head started bit and fizzy, then settled to around a quarter inch of khaki foam.
My first impression of the nose is cherries. A touch of chocolaty raisins. Some dusty yeast character.
Very subtle flavors here. Light cherries, banana chips, roasted nuts, raisins. Hell, lets just call this liquid trail mix.
Medium body. High carbonation. Creamy.
Well, this is certainly a good beer, but it aint all that. Still, thanks a million Tim. It is hard telling when I would I would have had the chance to drink this one.