Westvleteren 6

Formerly brewed at Westvleteren Abdij St. Sixtus
Style: Belgian Ale
Westvleteren, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

My Bottom Line:
This 11-year-old dark Belgian Ale obviously offers plenty of wet cardboard notes atop its grapey fruitiness and light roastiness, yet its fluffy mouthfeel and high drinkability must have made it very endearing when fresh. Farewell Westy 6.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-An impressive foam cream protects the cloudy brown.
-The grape-like fruitiness is very much Welch-juice like.
-This must have been very good when it was in better form (read: younger), but right now, I wouldn’t order another, even at the Kulminator. I guess it’s too late, unless you are studying oxidation.
-The mouthfeel was its best feature, which I admit I didn’t expect for such an old, modest brew.

1998 bottle bought at the Kulminator and shared a most generous pal, Dany; merci beaucoup!!!

Tasted at In de Vrede, quite some time ago. Dark brown color, medium tan head. Flavor of malt, raisins and dates. Maybe a bit of nuts. Slight sourness in the finish.

The bottle looks really good. No label - which brewery can do that? The beer is quite dark, not much foam. Starts spicy, a little bit woody, also a bit earthy. The finish is almost a bit vapid, for a short moment spicy again. I think the beer is already a bit over its top. Big thanks to yespr for the bottle!

Thanks Jason for sharing this marvelous beer. 1995 vintage. The beer pours to a deep mahogany body with a thin bubbly off-white head. The aroma is much like 8 and 12. It has that candi sugar and tobacco with the very distinct Westy characteristic. There’s a bit of complexity to it that I wasn’t able to detail, but I did get that it was very malty and tobacco laden. The flavor has the same distinct Westy character. Rich tobacco, candi sugar, deep caramels. Perfect palate that is silken and velvety. Very unique flavors and aromas and has a nice mineral content.

Thanks to Steve for another entirely rare bottle, bottled on 8/28/1995. Poured medium-to-deep amber with a short cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up soft, dusty, spicy yeast over well-aged toffee, raisins, and dates.. a touch of sourness gave a solid complement. The flavor held up as well with the same caramel as the base.. accents of white pepper, raisins, and faint smoke around.. finished spicy and satisfying. Medium-bodied with lower carbonation on the palate.. very well balanced and surprisingly composed (especially considering it’s 13 years old and 6.2%). Excellent!

Thanks AgentSteve. Hazy brown, Malty, dark fruits, caramel, slight alcohol, dry finish.

Bottle from Hellomynameis. Huge thanks to Zac for this rare gem. Pours opaque mahogany with a two finger tan head. The nose is malty, apricot, plum and a hint of alcohol. The flavor is quite the same, with all influences blending beautifully. Ther’s also a touch of sour ale, almost vinegar like, but it wasn’t bad at all. Added complexity. The finish is dry tannic and clean.

[Vintage 1998, Coutesy of yesper - a huge thank for sharing this!] Mudy brown with floaties and a medium off white head. Sweet aroma with roasted malt, caramel, chocolate and ripe fruits. Sweet flavor with roasted malt, caramel, prunes and plums. Ends sweet with warming alcohol.