Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Bottle. Aroma is lovely champagne, white wine, yeast, earth, dried dark fruit, just incredible. Large off-white head that left great lace and mostly lasted. Pitch black hue. Flavor is dried fruit, earth and bread and candi sugar but finishes very clean. Palate is lively and light/medium bodied. No alcohol detected. This is just an amazing brew, I am truly impressed.

Big ups to Chris for sharing this gem! Reddish brown with a larger than average head. Light pervasive raisin. Sweet brown sugar. Bubblegummy esters. Ethereal. Light cinnamon. A rather light body with small even bubbles, again ethereal. It tastes ethereal too! Raisins, dates, and a small event roast. Like a St. Bernie 8, in a lot of ways, but a purer subtler sweetness and a touch of lingering roast and maybe some fruit there. Lovely beer.

Blue cap stamped "26 08 05." Obtained via trade with Peabody, my new favorite person on earth. Modest pour into my Westvleteren goblet (god it feels good to pour a beer into its specific glass) results in a 1.5 finger vanilla head that peaks a millimeter above the rim of the glass. The beer itself is dark brown and quite murky due to some yeast that snuck into the pour. I get fig, raisin, sour cherry, chocolate, cocoa, yeast, dough, candi sugar, and probably a lot more on the nose. Taste is unbelievable. Every flavor flows into the next with ease and seamlessness. A perfect level of doughy malt flavor sets a foundation upon which cocoa, rum, fig, and cinnamon frolic. I don’t see how any other beer could possibly have so many flavors blended with such subtlety and balance. I would give mouthfeel a 5.5 if I could. Smooth as the finest silk. The carbonation is absolutely quintessential, end of story. I want to drink a barrel of this beer. Overrated? No.

Drank at the Gollem in Amsterdam. Pours a cloudy bright orange color that leaves a small off-white head. A less "hot" version of the 12 with the flavors more noticeable and more lingering. A very fine beer.

Poured a nice brown into the glass. Was way too cold at first, so we let it warm for awhile. Really nice lacing that lasted. Taste was bread, some spice, almonds, ripe fruit with a nice dryness. Slightly over carbonated in my opinion. Nice beer, but not the complete package I was hoping for.

Rating #700. 330 ml bottle purchased on eBay. Pour is a translucent brown-ruby with visible particle floaters and a nice one inch tan head that fades to a 1/4 inch quickly. Aroma of Belgian yeastiness, earthiness and some tobacco notes. Taste is the yeast again, though with some melon sweetness. Also, leather, tobacco, nuttiness, dark chocolate, earth and a touch of spiciness towards the finish. No evident heat. Very nice, though the palate was thinner than I was expecting.

Courtesy of Dragonstout. Pours a dark brown with a fizzy white head. Has excellent lacing. Hints of caramel, spice, bready yeast. Finishes with faint pepper taste compounded with a heavy carbonation. I think this is a overrated beer for this style.

Pours a cloudy mahogany color with a thin white head that stayed for the whole ride.Nose is of sweet fruit and alcohol.Flavor is warming, pepper, anise and slightly fruity.Finish is warming leaving the dpice to linger.