Westvleteren Extra 8

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

My visit to the cafe In de Vrede was awesome and the beer was terrific. All 3 Westvleteren beers offered there were great, to include this one. Red brown body color...the head is not as sturdy as the blonde or the 12, but is still thick and creamy. Same boiling mash smell as the blonde and the 12, but the cereal smell is a bit sweeter. In flavor, this beer lacks the fruitiness of the 12 but adds additional sweetness and some sour. Surprisingly not malty in flavor. Mouthfeel is quite good; despite the sweetness the beer is not overly sticky. Very good. I would highly recommend this.

Opened in celebration of Tampa’s AL Pennant.
V - ruby dark brown color with a voluminous head
A - pungent fruit spice aroma, cherry, raisins, spice
T - Slight alcohol noticable with lots of dark fruit spices, some caramel and malts
P - incredibly balanced.

Sampled this special beer poured from the bottle into a trappist style glass. The beer had a rich, deep aroma of figs, raisins, maybe some prunes and dates, and a roasty, toffee malt mixture with a light touch of ctirus and earthy hops. The beer was a dark copper-bwon color, with a rusted look. The head retention was great, and it had an off-white/tan color with rising bubbles on the sides of the beer. The taste was big and fruity, with raisins, plums, and the effects of the earthy hops. It was a great sour-sweet blend with some bitter tones too. The body had a wet start in the mouth with a big fzzy mouthfeel and lots of carbonation. It was lively throughout, had a drying finish and left a lot of taste in the mouth. Definitely a special beer, building up for the 12!

Bouteille de 330 ml. Vieillie 3 ans Pour mon 300 ème rating j’ai décidé d’ouvrir une bière rare et classée dans le top 50 mondial. La bière se présente avec une robe brune et des reflets bourgogne et un col de mousse beige compacte qui couvre au complet le précieux liquide du début jusqu’à la fin de la dégustation. Au nez on découvre une complexité hors de l’ordinaire. Des arômes de raisins, de prunes, de chocolat, de caramel écossais, de fraise confîtes et de genièvre réjouissent mon sens de l’odorat. En bouche le corps est moyen rond avec une effervescence moyenne élevée. On goûte au départ le sucre brun, par la suite les fraises confîtes et le caramel crémeux et le tout se termine par des notes d’alcool et de madère. Merveilleux

Bottle shared with GMCC2181. Poured murky brown, with nice head. Aroma was raisin, and sweet like candy. Taste was very nice, with dark fruits, raisins, and finished nice smooth and rolled right down. Enjoyed a lot.

Big thanks to Brad. Amazingly, a darker pour than the 12, really deep brown, a creamy beige head. Aroma of prunes, figs, some maple syrup. Not really a massive burst of fruits and sugars like the 12. Flavor has that really rich, elegant, clean alcohol sugar purity, fresh and exciting. There are a lot of figs, and a slight bittering component of hops on the back end that isn’t necessarily welcome here. A little too much carbonation, but still creamy and smooth. Over-ripe bananas play a role as the beer warms. The comparisons to the 12 are inevitable -- this is less of everything but still delicious.

Bottle from Brad. Thanks brad. Dark brown almost black in color, good size head. Weak aroma of raisons and some sugar. Taste is smooth... Dark fruits, sugar. Reminds me more of a quad. I think it is better then the westy 12. The texture is perfect. Creamy and smooth, rolls right off the tounge. Over all good beer.

Cola brown with an active light tan finger of head and tons of swirling yeast sediment and carbonation. Head settles quickly with no lacing. Aroma of dark pruny fruits some earthy sweet candy sugar and a light spiciness but definitely not as ’full’ as the Abt 12. Very light mouthfeel, doughy, more candi sugar followed by a mix of figs, prunes and alcohol. Slight saltiness and nuttiness. A little too thin in the finish for me.