Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Pours a deep brick red with a creamy, thin, tan head. Aroma is very fruity. Grapes, light berries, spicy yeast, sugary malts. I’m surprised at how refreshing this beer feels. Nice fruity, yeast, spicy flavor. Some grapes, caramel malt, candied malts, some raisin, and a faint alcohol burn at the end. For an 8% Belgian Strong ale I was expecting a more full, powerful brew, but I honestly think this is better how it is. A little thinner than expected and one of the more refreshing strong ales I’ve had. Good stuff.

bottle from a buddy, nice brownish color, with some beige head. nose is sweet like grape bubble gum, some caremel. flavor is sweet but balanced, with a bit of a dry finish. really intresting beer

Bottle, big thanks to TampaBrew for sharing. Poured a dark copper color with a thick fizzy white head, very nice lacing on left on the glass. Distinct aroma of malt, spicy Belgian yeast, and dark fruit, rasins or figs. Full bodied with solid carbonation. Taste is quite complex, starts with some sweet caramel notes and Belgian yeast spice, later some of those fig and rasin notes become apparent as does some mild alcohol notes. Finishes mildly bitter.

18.01.11 Almost surreal. Senses heightened. Attention focused. Rich cola nut aroma, reminds me of many other Belgian strong ales I’ve had and while good, not shattering to my perceptions of beer. Maybe it’s like standing next to the Pope at a urinal and realizing that he’s still just a dude. In the end this is still beer. Dark murky brown, arrogant tan head receded on its own time while I wrote all of this and now some grape jelly comes out. Light pencil shavings also. I get too much alcohol here, some plum, more cola, and little of anything I’d call divine. I never want to be seen as that guy who revels in ripping on whatever’s popular, but I just don’t get this. I have another bottle older than this one and I’ll look deep into it when I crack it down the road.

Rating 400. Giant thanks to MrChopin for this one. Pours a deep, dark brown, with some ruby accents showing through, and an incredibly dense, light tan head. We’re talking cappuccino froth. Dark fruits, caramel apples (like honeycrisp apples dipped in real caramel), milk chocolate and spices on the nose. I don’t know how they make these brews so creamy while retaining so much carbonation. The palate may be one of the best parts - so silky smooth. Flavors line up with the nose, adding perhaps some grape must. The profile is akin to the 12 but without quite the knockout punch. My favorite part? The flavor lingers forever. Very full mouthfeel, quenching in the mouth, but finishes clean. The head lingers forever. This is superb.

This is an excellent beer. Dark brown with a thin tan head. Head dissapates quickly. Lots of yeast on the second pour. It has an amazing flavor. Dark dried fruit, caramel, malty with a hint of earth. The flavors are all subtle and well balanced. Medium body, good carbonation, no trace of alcohol and it is very drinkable. I was most impressed with the drinkability of this beer. Most beers of this strength and flavor can be heavy, alcoholic or both. Fantastic beer that was unable to live up to the hype or price tag.

AS good as it can get. I was a bit biased against this beer, due to the hype. Everybody has written how it looks. The taste is very complex and changing in the mouth. I could miss the sting of the alcohol from the nose and aroma.