Westvleteren Blond

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

What a nice surprise. Both to be given this as a christmas gift and the beer itself. Pale and slightly murky looking with a nice white head. Very nice and complex aroma, dominated by light yeasts (I really don’t know how to describe it), some spicyness and a bit of hops. Very flavourful for the type (blond), coriander, lovely and quite characteristic yeast flavour with a good balance btw. sweet and bitter notes. Impressive if the alc. content is correct - it does taste of quite a lot more.

Huge fluffy, rocky head. Beautiful hazy golden color with some light carbonation bubbling up from the bottom of the chalice. Very spicy, hoppy, fruity aroma with a hints of fruitiness and sugariness. Huge sweet-but-bitter flavors: spices (coriander, nutmeg, clove), orange and lemon zest, some slight pepperiness, and a serious dose of hops. Mouthfeel is a bit sticky, but with some prickliness on the tongue from the carbonation. Surprisingly dry and bitter hoppy finish. Amazing.

Bottle at home. Another wonderful experience. Very light and sweet. Much less dense in flavour and texture than its darker brethren. Least favourite of the 3 Westies. But, absolutely nothing to complain about.

Bottled. Hazy golden coloured with almost no head. Mild and round. A bit dusty with notes of hops, spices, fruits and yeasts. A bit dry.

451st. Bottle that I picked up on eBay. Light golden orange thin white head seems to grow in size as it the glass warms. The aroma is bready and smells a little like sun dried zest. Light, dry, citrus finish. Medium bodied, which is heavy than I expected. Flavor is very much like a lager, except much better. King of the Light Trappists!

300th rating - I figured this would be a good time to crack open the first of my Westys. Light orange-blonde color with a fair amount of yeast and a medium size head. Aroma of orange and other citrus, yeast, and an almost Pils-like malt. Taste is heavy with yeast and Belgian malts, with hints of citrus breaking through. Lighter, but very tasty. I’m glad it made the trip from Europe without any problems - more importantly, the "8" and "12" will be up soon.

Bought and held for approx. 18 months with no noticeable change in flavor. Light and fruity with easy, clean taste that does not linger. One of my favorite blonds and an excellent starting point for Trappist biers.

At Tavern de bottleje - Ostende. Slightly hazy copper with a rocky white head. Slight citrus and yeast in the aroma... suprisingly weak, but pretty pleasant all the same. Light, yet balanced body, slightly dry with flavours of citrus, cinnamon and apricot. The finish is also dry. Overall it shows great balance, I was a little disappointed, but in reality its about as much as one could do with the style.