Westvleteren Extra 8

Deep, dark brown with amber highlights and a creamy, sticky head of foam. Aroma of dark malts, coffee, cocoa, but also dry fruits. Flavor is initially sweet--raisin, brown sugar, and faint, dark chocolate--before going into a superb balance of sweet and bitter. Malty backdrop gets deeper at the end. Rather dry, lightly carbonated, somewhat creamy. Like the 12, for me, the real miracle is in the balance. So many nice attributes, and none of them dominant over another. No real weaknesses here. The only letdown would be if you drank the 12 first, or any beer with an extremity that would ruin your palate.

Being a complete novice I was keen to experience a beer that has, by some, been judged as a world-beater. So I dug around and purchased a bottle of Westvleteren extra 8 that I found on EBAY - paid 12 pounds for it. I inexpertly found it quite heavy, vry fruity - plums & cherry. It was a very pleasant drink with a sherry’ish flavour.

Bottle at Vrede. Dark brown color with small long lasting head. Chocolate, coffee, sweetish, herbs, with stronger malts than hops taste. Medium body. Very fresh from the bottle. Much too drinkable and a superb beer.

Bottle @ In the Vrede, Westvleteren. Enjoyed together with a tasteful Port Salute from the monastery. Pours unclear dark mahogny. Lasting light chocolate head. Rich aromas of sweet dark fruits, toffee, caramel, herbs and spices. Taste is sweetish and malty and even more complex than the aroma; caramel, candysugar, raisins, dates, prunes, yeast, alcohol and a range of spices. Medium to full body. Silky mouthfeel. Lingering sweetish and slight bitter end. A great beer.

Hazy brown of color with a cloudy off-white head. An aroma of spice and caramel. A nice flavor of caramel, spice and raisins.

Bottle shared at DLD. Poured a deep browish/amber with a billowy head. Sweet and spicy aromas. Flavor of dried fruits and a hint of peppary spice. A little thin, which I was very surprised about. Overall, an excellent beer from across the pond.

Dark mahogany body with brisk red hues looks as if it is collapsing upon itself, like a dying star in the moments before a black hole forms. A luscious, creamy beige head rises up from within an aggressively carbonated body. Lacing is bulbous and fully covering what glass was not initially overtaken by the animated nectar. The tension between the frothy carbonation and silken liquid is noticeably forceful, one component trying to overtake the other in an epic battle of ascent and retreat. Lively is a gross understatement. Aromas cascade from the glass in waves. Plums and candy sugar fight for dominance first, in what would turn out to be an epic battle for supremacy. Currants and exotic caramels bounce off one another. Yeast spawned from years of careful and noble cultivation captivates all senses, flavorful before ever reaching willing lips. Roasted malts are luscious and focused on the task at hand: to keep sweet sugars and brutish dark fruits at bay, the task completed admirably. The balance is engrossing. Lighter nuances of pears and figs, hazelnuts and freshly baked bread all just add to the provocative complexity. Alcohol is of no consequence, from afar or upon the first quenching sip. That first sip quickly leads to a hearty gulp, pleasures not often encountered begin to take hold. The bitterness encountered is light yet persistent, gracefully imparting newfound layers of intricacy. Sweet fruits are one and many at once, slowly coming to light in a single file line that parades fastidiously past my tastebuds. Pronounced but soft notes of plums, cherries, raisins and kiwi. Caramel malt and caramelized brown sugar compact the flavor and develop an acute and transcendent fluid motion as the last of the mouthful passes the back of my tongue. The mouthfeel is full, segueing into a dry and robust finish of remarkable length. Caramel lingers on, like small pieces of candy have stowed away for eternity in pockets unseen. A truly amazing experience. Westvleteren completely obliterates all other breweries when elegance is the topic. Beautiful. Not beyond compare, but grace is rarely seen in this capacity.

Shared by someone at DLD. This had a great flavor and a pretty solid aroma but it seemed to be a little oxidized actually. I got some papery notes in this. Some raisins and dark fruits coming through. I will have to rerate this at somepoint.