Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Bottle 33 cl at Locus Publicus, Delft. Poured a very dark amber with a medium and fading off-white head and a sweet, malty aroma with hints of ripe fruit and brown sugar. I had this beer right after the Westvleteren 12 and compared to that the taste isn’t that rich and complex. Flavor is malty, but not that overly sweet, with hints of ripe fruits, toffee, peanuts and hops. A longlasting hoppy finish sums up for this great beer.

Smells really malty, like an olvatine and biscuit fight in a Warbutons factory. Bottle from Wyn to my brother and on to me. Very good. Great beer, thanks again to our Chopsy.

Bottle. Cloudy dark amber colour with an orange hue. Pretty thick light brown head. Malt and dark berries in the aroma. Rather sweet malt in the flavor which is balanced by hops and fruits. Lasting bitter/sweet finish. Extremely well balanced beer.

33cl bottle from ygtbsm94. Beautiful and complex aroma. Light chocolate, hazelnut, mild fruity esters, raisins and dates, crushed cabernet grapes, almonds and plenty of dry and spicy yeast. Pours deep, full brown with dark ruby highlights. A firm and creamy off white head sits atop. Toasted nuts, dough, chocolate, dry red wine, dark berries, some earthy hops on the tongue. Very dry, but not offensive. Rich, creamy with lively carbonation. The dry, yeasty finish lasts forever. Can’t wait to see how this develops in a few years. Thanks a ton Brad!

Pours brow with a big a fizzy head. Alcohol and fruity esters on the nose. grapey overtones reminiscent of a fine white whine . Dry & Hoppy flavors on the finish.

Bottle sampled at cellar temperature for #600. Body is a very dark brown color with a massive ammount of tan head. Aromas are a bit weak... earth, yeast, a slight tartness, etc. Flavors are a very nice mixture of earthy/nutty/chocolaty tones with a sweetness that I can’t really describe other than by saying it is a creamy sweetness... more like condensed milk than any sort of sugar. Finish is smooth as can be and there is enough of a warmth from the ABV to let you know that it is for real. Merry Christmas to all!

Rated from memory. Sampled Dec. 18/07 (thanks Ben!). So fruity and deep and luscious. Heavy on the grapes/raisins/dates, more stone fruit than dried fruit, really. An enigmatic herbal perfume as well. It continues to please in the mouth with a huge burst of deep, rich flavours. The alcohol is present, but only to enrich the whole experience. Sweet and decadent and absolutely lovely in every way. I truly hope to get a small stash of all the "Westies" to call my own for special occasions.

For rating #200, something a little bit special. Pours a rather dark brown with garnet edges and a 1/2 inch thick head which settles to a dense pocked foam; initially yeasty and bready on the nose, but slowly unraveling into fresh grape, dark berries, mild roasted malts and some fresh spunky hops. Perhaps a little thin on the palate but well carbonated, pretty dry, brown sugar starts and is quickly followed by fresh dough, complex perfumy characters, some vanilla sweetness just before a prickly herbal hop presence develops, cleaning the palate and suggesting more. If this is the 8, I can’t wait to try the 12.