Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Burned sugar and raisins, like dark chocolate icecream with rum-raisins. Murky red, creamy head, some yeastclumps. Aroma is again found in the tastenotes together with a lingering fruitynes (dates). Body is expectadly lighter than the 12 counterpart.

Dark brown with an off-white head. Aroma is sweet malt and dark fruits. Not quite as sweet as the westy 12. Flavor is a sweet bread tasted with vanilla. Lots of malt, and a great mouthfeel.

This beer poured a dark reddish tan color with a light tan head that stayed around for a while and left beautiful lacing. Aroma of booze, dark fruits, caramel and dough. Taste was very winish, raisins, slight nutty, some cinnamon, and malty flavor to it with light alcohol in the finish. A very good brew.

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a beige head.Aroma is candis sugar, cellar notes. Flavour is alcohol, cellar notes, dried fruits, spices. Thanx to yngwie.

Pours a brownish color with a medium head. Interesting malt aroma with some spice to it. Ditto on the taste. It’s a little sugary. There are also some of the root and/or herbal flavors that I loved so much in another Trappist beer. Decently tasty, but nothing to search the ends of the Earth for.

Aged bottle- not sure how long. I have had it for about 3-4 years- with D&V label. Could be older. Pours a nice woody amber brown with a nice softish head and some lace. Aroma is toast, toffee, sweet malts, very low oxidation- some sherry, earthy phenolics and nice light fruity esters. Good full malt flavors with a high carbonation, but is so soft, it makes the beer so smooth- phenolic, spicy, earth, dark malts, dark candi sugar, toast, molasses, nutty and slight burnt notes with good dark dried fruits. Smooth and easy drinking. Awesome.

First rating.
Bottle from a friend that bought it at the abbey, carried it home to Sweden, and gave me a bottle. Cheers Per!
Aged for at least 2 years.
Color is red brown, clear when the yeast is left out, cloudy non-see through brown when the yeast is put it. Big tan head, creamy and lasting. Fruity and still dry scent. Very dry taste, a bit sweet, but not much. Not able to tell the alcohol level in scent or flavor. Small bitterness. Quite a delight and a nice summer beer when hot outside.
8/4/8/4/16=4.0

Second rating
(33 cl bottle at Haket, Göteborg on February 8, 2008)
BB 2010
Clear dark reddish brown color, tan medium sized head. Grainy malty sweet scent, also metallic and chese. Also some spices and chocolate. Smooth malty and spicy taste with lots of warming alcohol. Moussy mouthfeel, low bitterness. Grainy malty dry aftertaste.
7/4/7/3/14=3.5


I’ll leave the higher rating since it seems aging the bottle just made it better.

Best Before 10.18.07 bottle, big thanks to Olivier_MTL for opening this. Served in a Westvleteren chalice for breakfast on 7/9/2005. Blind serving. Perfect appearance, with a foamy, large beige-flecked-white head, lasting, pillowy and providing ample lacing. The beer is very unfiltered and has a mahogany, tan-brown body, slight hints of light orange and copper. Aroma: The country must be Belgium. The yeast profile is just too smooth, subtley integrated and well-done to be an American replica. Notes of light vanilla cream, raisins, prunes and light candi sugar notes. Upon sipping, I remark that it must be a trappist. The mouthfeel and flavor are just fantastically drinkable, flavorful and balanced. Light carbonation, bits of bitterness and light acidity, with hints of chocolate, anise, hazelnuts and caramelized sugar. Light raisins and prunes with a hint of chocolatey fudge lingering, along with a delectable yeastiness. My next notion places it as an Abbey Dubbel, perhaps, or maybe a Belgian Strong. Somewhere in between, anyways. It has a restrained flavor, with all of the raisins and light fruits and caramel, I could really see it working as a dubbel. The yeast is restrained and tastefully done. Low alcohol apparency, no hops bitterness. On the end, I also did get a bit of waxy crayons, don’t really remember that from the 12, but perhaps it is some yeast dullness. Really enjoyable, smooth mouthfeel, and just tickles the palate with just the right amount of carbonation. Thanks so much Olivier!