Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Very lively when opened up the bottle, as evidenced by by notes. Dark red in colour with thick white head. Big alcohol flavours, warm mouth feel.

Wow this stuff looks dark reddish brown almost black; rather disappointed in the lack of head that was produced only managed to get about half an inch and that quickly disappeared leaving a thin layer that lasted the rest of the brew. The main body of the aroma seems to be made up of what I first thought was sour cherries, but then realized it smells identical to grape huba buba gum. Great balance in the smell not to strong or to weak, the underlying aromas I can detect is of warm alcohol, and sweet yeast, maybe but I’m not sure some fruity hops. Nice smooth warming alcohol presence in the flavor, and I want to say this has some red wine like qualities to it but Jeff (Beercronic) won’t let me because he say’s I have no clue what red wine is suppose to taste like, screw him!!! This brew has a red wine like flavor. Defiantly hitting some raisin flavors here and as the beer warms more grape and spicy notes come out. This beer almost has to sweet of a flavor and leaves your mouth fairly dry. This is a great beer not a supper good one just a great one, very enjoyable."

Does a random Monday count as a special occasion?! Bottle via trade with ygtbsm94. Pours a nice dark brown with a gray-brown head. Nose and mouth are really complex. Fruity both dark and lighter, buttery, brown sugar, nutty, rich malt, caramel, pepper, wonderful grape takes over towards the end. Mouth is well carbonated but not excessively like some others can be. Sweeter mouth, dry feeling. Top beer for sure, a treat for sure!

Colore marrone scuro, quasi mogano con riflessi rossi molto vivi.Schiuma cremosa e molto aderente.Aroma complesso vinoso e fruttato molto gradevole.Note alcooliche.Anche il gusto è ugualmente complesso e vivace.Amarognolo nel finale.Praticamente perfetta.

bottle - Pours very dark brown with a big light tan head. It has a malty, dark fruit accented aroma with some caramel. The taste is sweet malt and dark fruit. I’m also getting a hint of anise. It’s a very tasty, drinkable strong ale with a medium to full body that leaves some pleasantly complex flavors lingering on the palate.

Having waited years to try anything from this brewery I finally got hold off a couple of bottles of the blue from the lovely people at Beers of Europe. Dark and pouring with a brown head my first impression was off a pleasant creamy strong ale. Lots of body but not a lot of complexity. Some caramel was present and it was very pleasant to drink. Still think it is overated.

Pours dark chestnut brown with a huge tan head. Smells of buttery toffee, nuts, fruit, yeast, and spices. This is a thick beer and very smooth. The taste is of buttery caramel and toffee, brown sugar, and an assortment of dark fruit. It has a touch of roasted malt flavor leading to a hint of a bitter finish that doesn’t take away from the sweetness of this beer, it just complements it. Can’t get over the creamy smoothness of the mouthfeel for a beer this big. Tasted next to a Struise Pannepot, and it tasted a little harsh in comparison. This is truly a great beer to be savored.

Bottle from BelgianBeerGal (BIG THANKS!) Pour was dark brown, plenty of carbonation and smelled of fermented raisins and brown sugar. Flavor was also raisins, brown sugar, heavy malt and finished with a green apple aftertaste. Very good, but I don’t see it as a top 50 beer.