Westvleteren Extra 8

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

A great looking warm brown beer with a fluffy creamy head on top. Nose is smooth and bready with a fantastic malty and honeyed character. The taste is round, cake like and has a fine hoppy bitterness about it. Aftertaste is so right, all components are right where they should be.A very nice classic.

Beer from Bottle. Aged +/- 2 years. The beer pours a murky brown. I had expected a better look. Smell of hops, and a hint of tobacco (as with the blond, though less), burnt grain, raisins. Gives a reasonably good frothy off-white head that does not last however. The beer was a bit too cold when I took the first sips. Result: bitterness protruding that reminded me of the Orval. The taste gets better when the beer warms up. Nevertheless I found this one quite thin and watery as far as texture goes. Expected it to be much better. As for the taste nuances, they’re there but all somehow toned down and the beer is therefore lacking in complexity. In my opinion the Westvleteren 8 is definitely vastly overrated because of the hype and the scarce availability. This one should not be ranking this high and I personally would even choose the Westvleteren Blond over this one.

Nice consistent murky dark brown pour with a thick, dense offwhite head. Served at about 50F. malt, burnt sugar, spice, bready, a little bit of metallic and fruit notes. Extraordinary balance with well-integrated flavors. Finish goes on and on. As it opens up: cherry, a bit of cinnamon/raisin bread. Just delicious.

This began to open up a little bit after pouring it in my glass. Maybe it was served a bit too cold. When it opened up, the fruit, bitterness, spice, alcohol and the malt were well balanced. Definitely, one of the greatest beer.

Bottle from trade. Poured a really nice dark brown with a large off-white head. Aroma of dark fruit - rasins & cherries, belgian spice, yeast. Taste is really nice balance of dark fruit, spice, yeast, bready malt. Really nice. Body is well balanced and fairyl well carbonated. Overall, a very enjoyable brew.

Very dark reddish brown pour. Small floaties everywhere. A thin, but persistent off-white head. Aroma of raisins, burnt sugar, wood. There is a definite alcohol presence in the flavor, but it isn’t too offensive. Burnt malt, grapes, red wine, tobacco. Seems to be more bitter than other examples of the style. The mouthfeel is slightly prickly, which pairs nicely with the otherwise heavy nature of the beer. Also has a nice warming effect on this rainy Bruges evening. Very good beer.

bottle, dark brown colour with huge beige head. Very fruity smell. Taste: Chestnuts and woody, dark fruit, bitter, malty, grainy, sweet, dry, spicy, roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, caramel, coconuts, alcohol. I think my bottle was a bit too warm. (roomtemperature), but still a very good ale!

Aroma is must and dark fruit. Nose has all of this, but also fresh tobacco, basalmic and wine notes. Pours a brown with tan head. Flavor is sweet, but changes to dry right away. And finishes on a beautiful dry note. Would I rate this beer the greatest? Probably not. Is it the best Belgian style Beer? Probably not. Is it worth $30 a pop? No. But is it a good beer? Yes, very much so.