Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 02/17/2001
Mode: Bottle
Source: www.belgianshop.com

dark brown, thick tan head, malty aroma with a touch of floral hops, rich malt flavor, lots of complexity, underlying bitterness
-------- /> Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 05/05/2003

opaque brown, frothy tan head, peppery spicy aroma and flavor, rich dark malt flavor, light bitterness,
-------- /> Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 03/26/2006
Source: tasting

lots of rich spicy chocolate malt flavor,
-------- /> Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 07/02/2006
Source: tasting
Words: cellar party

nice sweet chocolate malt flavor, great fig and raison flavor, nice spices
-------- /> Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 09/08/2007
Mode: bottle
Words: cellar party

rich chocolate and ripe fruit is a great combination

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Big thanks to JJPM74. Dark mahogany pour, big almond head. Aroma is perfumy but light. Flavor is candi sugar, lots of caramel, brown sugar, molasses, perfumy with a good amount of floral hops. Oak and woody with chocolate and some smoke as it warms. Lots of dark berries with mainly a sweet sugary and perfumy taste with some roastiness in the background. Good beer but I do prefer the 12 this was like a subdued version.

Tasted 2007-08-19. 1 year old bottle, 33cl. Pours clear dark brown with big beige head. Powerful notes of malt, yeast, plums, molasses and prunes. There’s an alcohol-burn at the end, that I could do without, but make no mistake; This is a great beer!

pours a dark brown with a large creamy tan head that lasts throughout the beer. aroma has a slightly sour tinge with dark fruit, grains, and caramel. more carbonated than the other westy beers. bitter with lots a caramel and dark fruit.

A tasty beverage for sure! Poured a hazy brown color with a rich tan head. Aroma was slightly malty and had slight phenolic character. Nothing was dominant but as it warmed, the volatiles became more evident and the aromatic complexity deepened to include dried cherries. Carbonation was on the high end of moderate which gave the beer a rich, persistent head. Falvor was a balance of malt, molasses and dark fruit. Some "belgian character" was evident and evolved as the beer warmed, but was not the dominant flavor. Like the Blonde, this beer featured an assertive bitterness in the finish which was surprising to me. Palate was surpringly balanced... a silky, creamy texture cut by the carbonation created a light body while the mouthfeel was quite pleasing, maybe slightly drying but only by a nudge. Overall, this is a great beer. 99th percentile, not sure, but it did provide me one of the best beer experiences of 2007.

Pours cocoa brown with a thick, creamy lace. Sits full on the tongue with a sweet roasted malt feel. Tastes of chocolate, raisins, and caramel. Finishes clean with a nice burn. Best served at room temperature.

Finally entering all my "Better Know a Style: Belgian Strong Ale" tasting 07 results. Very big nose of dark fruit, yeast, and molasses. It looks amazing, with nice brown and large off-white head and good lacing. Flavor is malt sweet and dark fruits, and slight alc. Creamy and full body. I’m glad I was able to share this one with the guys.

Numerous bottles over winter 2006, courtesy of Swen Vincke at Larian (thanks so much. I was expecting a bottle or two, not a crate!) Like the 12, this is an outstanding beer and letting it age a little brings out the best in it. Pours a dark brown with a thin lacy head. The aroma is a heady mix of caramel, plum, burnt sugar, cocoa, nutmeg and more. The flavour is complexity personified, with roasted malt, chocolate and rich fruit cake flavours jointed by a host of tantalising hints, different in every bottle you drink. The finish is creamy with bitter dark chocolate notes. Whisper it, but at its best, this can be a better beer than the 12.