Westvleteren Extra 8

Courtesy of CigarCityBrew. Pours dark brown with some haziness to go along with a tan head. It has a big aroma of strawberries, raspberries, sweet rich Dr. Pepper notes and sugar drenched black currents. The taste is sweet and also tart with notes ranging from raspberry, strawberry, sweet dark grapes, plums, prunes and sugar coated apricots. It has a tart fruit edge to it. Seems a bit like Struise Pannepot, which is very good. All the flavor notes mix nicely and seem well melded.

0.33l bottle from Cambrinus Brugge. Pours deep, dark brown with a creamy head. Taste is very complex, tons of sweet chocolate, raisens, malt, caramel and fruit flavours, lasting sweet aftertase. Truly enjoyable. The best beer I’ve had the chance to try.

Bottle courtesy CigarCityBrew. Pours brown with ruby highlights and a one finger light tan head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of sweet malt, sweet caramel, cola, and dark fruit. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium mouthfeel with a mild amount of bitterness and smooth alcohol. Very good.

Bottled(330ml). -Courtesy of heavy (huge thanks!!!), shared with him and Doggythedog.
Murky dark brown coloured, medium sized tan head, slight caramel nose. The taste is very malty, fruity and pleasant spicy with nice notes of chocolate, plums and toffee. Also some notes of almonds, chocolate and warming alcohol in the long finish. Excellent brew just like Abt 12, but is Westvleteren Blond from the same family?

07/06 0.33 l bottle from belgianshop.com. Poured murky brown body with medium sized ocher head. Bit salty aroma, similar to it’s cousin Blond, but now with much more yeast and caramel malt which breaks through. Flavor is very nice, malty and yeasty. Complex, here we have full range of flavors, chocolate and caramel dominating, with some plums, berries, bitterish coffee, roasted sugar, ending with some slightly vinous components. Alcohol is very well hidden, can just be hinted. Finish is long and very pleasant, sweet chocolate and caramel. Great beer largely ruined by its strange aroma.

Tried this with many thanks to Greig! Pours a ruddish brown hue with a voluptuous off white head. Sweet Plums, dark fruit cake and bread on the nose, very full mouthfeel with a continuation of the fruity theme on the palate. The beer is rounded off by a tight, almond dry bitter finish that stops the beer becoming sickly. A great beer!

33cl bottle courtesy of Tony Falso at the Oldsmar Tap House on 5/30/08. Pours a dark amber to brown with a thick, frothy white-tan head. Good head retention. Aroma is decidedly of ripe dark fruits and brown sugar with notes of vanilla and banana. Flavor is also of ripe fruits, candy sugar, and molasses with the 8% alcohol coming through at times. Generally, though, the alcohol is well hidden. Lingering sweet finish. Excellent ale.

Pours dark brown with a big off white head. Aroma of sweet malt, raisins, vanilla. Taste is pretty much the same with some dark fruits and alchohol coming though in the end. Very nice, but the sweetness and raisins are not for me.