Westvleteren Extra 8

Pours brown with a 1 inch tan head. Aroma very yeasty and bready. Flavors of yeast, malt,and caramel. It was good but no Westy 12.

(3/4/08) Bottle at Kulminator in Antwerp. Best before 2/11 (then, I think, bottled on 2/08). Very dark brown, rather opaque, with a huge beige shaving foam-like head. Aroma of alcohol, yeast, some fruits, a bit spice, a bit of malt and hints of caramel. Sweet flavor of malt, caramel, dark fruits and a bit of yeast (much less than in the nose) Medium to full body. Very good, but doesn’t come close to its big brother the 12.

Reddish brown with a huge grey head. Aroma of fresh grassy hops, spice and dark bread. Complex flavours make this one of the very best Belgian strong ales, perhaps only surpassed by its bigger brother: berries, oak, red grapes, caramel, spice and nuts. Amazing mouthfeel too, with a full body playing along with tiny carbonation bubbles. --- [Vintage 2004, sampled in 2007] Unclear brown with a nice head. Aroma of berries, caramel and spices. The flavour is sweet and very complex with notes of caramel, overripe fruits and spices. It has aged perfectly!

Thanks to Jw347 for this rare treat Bottle poured into my chalice produced a finger worth of off white head that turned to a thin lace. The body was a burgundy color Aromas of a red wine in some ways tons of dark fruit Wow great flavors dark fruit malts and a citrus bitter Great mouthfeel nice carbonation on the tongue Highly drinkable will seek out again I am enjoying this on and will continue to enjoy it with my Easter dinner as a tribute to the monks

De Vrede, Belgium Bottled Malt, bitterness, yeast fruit and dry fruit in a complex harmony

Trade courtesy of sirpsycho. Not sure what year this one, but didn’t have the "trappist" ring around the neck. After having the Westy 12 and giving it a perfect 5, I was pumped for this one too, but it left me a little disappointed. Poured into a tulip glass, color was dark brown with some sediment. Aroma not as sweet/strong as the 12. Smelled of caramel, raisin, vanilla, spice. More carbonated than the 12, and I’m really not a fan of the high carbonation in some of the Belgian strong ales (like Pannepot). I thought Rochefort 8 was just as good for 1/3 of the price, whereas I much prefered the Westy 12 to the Rochefort 10. Good brew, but wouldn’t drop $20/bottle for it.

Yay..I finally got one. It was a 2008 bottle (didn’t take down the date...d’oh). 33 CL bottle from Beer Planet in Brussels. I had to buy a bunc of other beer first but the clerk let me in on some which he had hidden behind him on the counter. 8E a bottle is steep for a weak dollar, but worth it. Finally getting the beer is almost more fun than the actual beer itself. But the beer itself is pretty darned good too. The bottle foamed like crazy when I opened it, which led me to cry when I saw precious Westv being wasted. Anyway it poured into a trappist glass with a nearly perfect symmetrical head. The color was a pretty dark (but not opaque) brown, visible sediment etc at the bottom. Aroma was a bit of spice more so than anything else. Taste was a very well balanced blend of fruits & spices & molasses. A bit of a hops kicker at the end. Worth the wait.

Ja det er lige mig, rigtig behagelig fylde og blød og cremet med noter af karamel