Westvleteren Extra 8

330mL Bottle. Exp Date 17.06.12. Flickr(http://www.flickr.com/photos/26049401@N08/3902374062/) Thanks so much Fran and Sylvia! I’ve been waiting a long time to try this gem. Pours a vibrant cherry and ruby red, sienna-tinted and cloudy, with an uneven, rocky straw colored head. Beautiful. The aroma immediately gives away pilsener malt as a base, followed by a perfumy blend of plums, figs, and raisins. A very nice dark fruit complex. A touch sweet and sherry-like with a nice yeast contribution. Flavor develops quickly, with spiced bread pudding and fruitcake characters. The mineral-forward pils malt shows quickly and then slides off into a dappling of black cherry juice, allspice, and cooked plum flesh. Delicious. A very dry and carbonated presentation. Bottle-conditioning at its finest. I think what’s most exciting and appealing about this beer is the raging fresh pilsener malt character that just oozes out of ever pore of this beer. The deeper fruit characters and the gentle yeast tones are fantastic, but the pils malt base really sets a stage for excellence. Wonderful. I much prefer this to the 12.

One of my favourites strong ales. Complicated, well balanced at all. No other comments needed. Is almost perfect, almost...

plum raisins and caramel, but without being too sweet, and showing up lots of spice as well. splendid.

A bottle 0.33L tasted at Kaisla. Reddish brown colour. Pale beige head. Mild slightly spicey nose (too cold). Soft spicey taste with some hints of dark fruits. Some bread and some hints of raisins in the nose. Average hoppiness. Warming alcohol. Hmm...

Bottled June 3, 2009 - pretty fresh considering it had to travel all the way to Missouri! Tasted alongside the Blonde and the 12, this was our final Westy of the day. This 8 is everything that its big brother is and more, with some of the cloying sugary sweetness stripped out. Murky reddish-brown with a nice head that the 12 didn’t have (freshness might have come into play here). Otherwise, aroma and flavors similar to the 12. GREAT beer here, would love to get my hands on a few more!

Drank it next to the 12, which I shouldn’t have done. To be frank: tastes like mineral water compared to the 12. However, it improved after a while. This is like a light version of the 12. Less alcohol, not as full-bodied, more bitterness and spiceyness.

11.5 oz bottle, courtesy of bret27. Medium dark brown with off white head. Wonderful nose of milk chocolate and fruits. Very smooth with good mouthfeel. Split between 6 of us, so I am eager to get one to myself.

Tasted this one next to the 12. They are similar in appearance, but the 8 is just a little "thinner". I’ve read that the 8 is brewed from the second runnings of the 12, that’d make sense. Cocoa and caramel, with a little more hop presence.