Westvleteren Extra 8

Wow, just finished a Westy 12, now into the 8. Monumental evening. More dense maple garnet hue. Layer of clinging light beige head. Musty bready aromas. Super sweet creamy caramel cinnamon nose. Dried dark fruits and cinnamon bread. Full bodied with moderate effervescence. Big fruity flaovrs. Lingering tingling acidity. Sharper, and not as well integrated as his big brother. It’s no slouch, but this is in a genuine comparative basis. Big citrus cocoa mixture. Flavors overlap and meld together. Blending is sporadic. Beautifully crafted brew. Flavors of toffee and grapes/ Figs and wood. Bigger raisins and citrus acidity. Lesser burn. Note truly lessor, just smaller.

For my 100th rating I wanted to open something special...Poured into Trappist glass. Dark brown with ever so slight red hue. Hint of dark fruit, plum and cherry with suggestion of chocolate and caramel. Alcohol well hidden. I can see why this is in in the Top 50.

Beautiful, thick garnet hued pour. Resilient crown. Aroma is quiet at first. Hints at honey, raspberry and vague pit fruits. Cinnamon dusted apple crisp and a kind of hazelnut mocha tone. Late whiff of alcohol. A juicy burst of black cherries leads the flavor and never quite fades. Bananas, rum, nutella, chocolate raisins. Dynamic, nutty finish that slowly whisks away every drop of moisture from the mouth, leaving its sweet and dry glaze to coat the mouth. Rather indefinitely. It has moments of transcendence, when it begins to shift shape between each foray into its nuances…but these are less dominant than a somewhat singular berrylike character. Undeniably solid, nothing unique. Thanks Keith!

Courtesy irishboy. Pours a cloudy caramel brown with a medium bubbly light brown head. The aroma was awesome, grapes, dark fruits, caramel, and a little Belgian candy sugar all blended to perfection. Taste has big sweet caramel, delicious malts, cinnamon, and dark fruits. Much like the smell. Flavors just dance on the tastebuds. Prefectly balanced with a lovely sweet aftertaste left on the lips. Absolutely fantastic for rate # 500!

Slightly murky brown, light tan head. Nose is caramel, alcohol, cocoa, some strawberry. Flavor is caramel, hints of spice, a little fruit.

33 cl bottle courtesy fonefan, best before 06.06.09. Gorgeous dark ruby mahogany colour with a fully lasting rich, creamy, pillowy, fizzy, and rocky beige head. Raisin, chocolate, plum, cherry, toffee, brown sugar, canided fruit, date, fig, and very light alcohol aroma with some woody notes. Dark fruit dominates the flavour - lots of fig, raising, and plum - with some toffee and molasses, hints of chocolate and cherry, and a light vinous finish with a touch of alcohol. Full bodied, rich, soft, and smooth mouthfeel. Beautiful beer.

This is probably as close to perfection in a bottle as it’s going to get. Wonderful vinous quality about it and a little spiciness. It has a very appealing green apple tartness balanced by some candy sugar sweetness that makes this one of the most enjoyable beers I’ve had the pleasure of tasting. smooth, light textured and silky on the palate. The monks did themselves very proud!

HUGE thanks to my dear friend peabody for this beer (as well as the 12). Beautiful brew. The aroma is excellent; I could keep my nose planted in this glass all day. As for the taste...oh boy. Too many things to count, just know this: this is an extremely delightful and very drinkable beer. It’s wonderful. Some people may look at this as the "little brother" of the Westy 12, but this is great.