Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Yesper, JK, hellomynameis and others put together one hell of a sampler for us. And another winner from this batch (big surprise. Great spicy nose with dark dried fruits in there. Brown color with faint head. Spicy malt body with a yeast bite on the finish.

Deep brownish burgundy color, somewhat cloudy. Thick, huge, cream colored head. Faint aroma of dates and dough. Full bodied, sweet, cherry, raisin and malty flavor. Somewhat bitter and doughy long finish. I’ve had this one in the cellar for over a year and it was well worth the wait.

I was fortunate to have a friend in Belgium pick this up for me as it demystified one the most storied beers I had read about in recent years. I shared it with a good friend as it poured majestically into a Trappist glass to a medium dark brown visage. The muscular aroma of apples, champagne, coffee came through in the first taste that was memorable. It reminded me of a darker version of Orval with the yeasty elements of Westmalle and the medium light body of a Bier d’garde. The dry chocolaty aftertaste lingered for a long time as the 8 just capped a wonderful evening.

Bottle, 33 cl. Dark brown, beige head. Aroma fruity, chocolate. Full body. Taste fruity, caramel chocolate, and malt. Bit spice complex but wonderful taste. Subliem !

(thanks to yespr and Mpls. crew for sharing) Pours dark brown with an off-white head. Aroma is strong of grape, plum, very fruity. Taste is sweet malt with some slight spice, and a nice long lasting bread-like yeast finish. Good mouthfeel, a nice beer.

bottle vintage 1997thanks dorwart for giving my dad a bottle of this and etowneraser for sharing the wealth!- pours cloudy root beer colour with lots of sentiment head is thin and exists only at the edge of the glass. smells cheese, butterscotch, peaches, taste is sour and sweet. some wood flavor. carbonation is still strong, nice warming alcohol sensation at the end lots of subtle flavours i feel like i am missing out on because of my stuffy nose. this is actually really depressing. sticky mouthfeel. finish is long lasting and sweet. really fine swill.

[Bottle, thanks Yespr/Mpls Crew] Pours cloudy brown with a beige head. Aroma of grape, brown sugar and malt. Taste is sweet--fruity, malt, spice, with a small amount of hops. Medium mouthfeel. Long finish. Very nice.

Dark beer with nice medium head. Aroma has chokolate, plums and malt. Flavor is malty with fruits, spices and a warming finish. Resemblance to the W12. Fantastic beer.