Westvleteren Extra 8

Compilation of ratings from two bottles, both thanks to Fin! One shared with Fin, Loz and Traci, one just Traci and me. Lovely deep orange highlighted brown, substantial sand-colored cap that leaves streaks of lace all over the glass. Woody, earthy aroma, a bit of toasted caramel and a touch of smoke. More sniffing: strawberries, buttered toffee. Bright peppery carbonation fills the mouth, making an interesting contrast with deeply caramelized low-frequency flavors. Strawberry and plum esters, a lingering mineral, leafy caramel finish. A few things strike me about this beer: aroma is pretty, but the volume seems really low--in any kind of distracting environment this beer would almost disappear. (A shy beer?) The flavor too, is ultra soft and unassuming. And while I really enjoyed this, I sort of expected something with a bit more impact. This is 8% of shrinking violet.

2004 vintage, deep amber with a thin off white head..nose of raisins nuts malt and yeast. Belly warming alcohol with again raisin nuts and malt with a slightly bitter swallow. Still, a great beer and once again a spiritual experience at that...Amen.

Aroma: caramel followed by vanilla. Gives way to strong malt and fruity esters with a touch of cherry. Apearance: brown with red highlights nicely hazy with a good tan head and sheet lacing. Flavour: malt, balanced with grape fruity bitterness. Some carbon, cherry notes with some hazelnut 8 mocha. Palait: thick, lots of carbonation finishes malty sweet and highly acidic

Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 02/17/2001
Mode: Bottle
Source: www.belgianshop.com

dark brown, thick tan head, malty aroma with a touch of floral hops, rich malt flavor, lots of complexity, underlying bitterness
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Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 05/05/2003

opaque brown, frothy tan head, peppery spicy aroma and flavor, rich dark malt flavor, light bitterness,
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Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 03/26/2006
Source: tasting

lots of rich spicy chocolate malt flavor,
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Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 07/02/2006
Source: tasting
Words: cellar party

nice sweet chocolate malt flavor, great fig and raison flavor, nice spices
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Name: 8 - blue cap
Date: 09/08/2007
Mode: bottle
Words: cellar party

rich chocolate and ripe fruit is a great combination

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Big thanks to JJPM74. Dark mahogany pour, big almond head. Aroma is perfumy but light. Flavor is candi sugar, lots of caramel, brown sugar, molasses, perfumy with a good amount of floral hops. Oak and woody with chocolate and some smoke as it warms. Lots of dark berries with mainly a sweet sugary and perfumy taste with some roastiness in the background. Good beer but I do prefer the 12 this was like a subdued version.

Tasted 2007-08-19. 1 year old bottle, 33cl. Pours clear dark brown with big beige head. Powerful notes of malt, yeast, plums, molasses and prunes. There’s an alcohol-burn at the end, that I could do without, but make no mistake; This is a great beer!

pours a dark brown with a large creamy tan head that lasts throughout the beer. aroma has a slightly sour tinge with dark fruit, grains, and caramel. more carbonated than the other westy beers. bitter with lots a caramel and dark fruit.

A tasty beverage for sure! Poured a hazy brown color with a rich tan head. Aroma was slightly malty and had slight phenolic character. Nothing was dominant but as it warmed, the volatiles became more evident and the aromatic complexity deepened to include dried cherries. Carbonation was on the high end of moderate which gave the beer a rich, persistent head. Falvor was a balance of malt, molasses and dark fruit. Some "belgian character" was evident and evolved as the beer warmed, but was not the dominant flavor. Like the Blonde, this beer featured an assertive bitterness in the finish which was surprising to me. Palate was surpringly balanced... a silky, creamy texture cut by the carbonation created a light body while the mouthfeel was quite pleasing, maybe slightly drying but only by a nudge. Overall, this is a great beer. 99th percentile, not sure, but it did provide me one of the best beer experiences of 2007.