Westvleteren Extra 8

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

Pours a deep black color with a thin, creamy light brown color. Amazing and complex aroma of malt, alcohol, chocolate, spices and fruits, maybe raisins or plums. Great, complex flavor of malt, alcohol, chocolate, spices, raisin and/or plums with a sweet finish. Light to medium body, creamy, heavenly smooth texture, soft carbonation. Whoa, that was a hell of a ride, this beer is not exactly what I expected but it is amazingly delicate and gentle, and yet it expresses itself strongly through my nose, mouth, heart and soul, a true work of art.

Well Can it actually be better. I had this one before, a couple of months ago in Cafe Belgie in Utrecht (just like eczmatic), but by then I wasn’t familiar with this site. Westvleteren 12 was the first I rated, 8 is number 100! When I just opened the bottle, the Dutch Soccer team made 2 goals in 3 minutes against Belarus (tnx caesar). And with such a great palate and a well balanced, complex taste in my mouth this was one of the best moments in my life! ;)
What makes this beergood (and better than the Westy 12) is the great balance between hoppy bitterness and malty sweetness. Very uncommon.

Kind of a hefty price tag but it's worth it to finally have Westy available in my area. I tried the Westy 12 almost 2 years ago by trading and didn't really have the palate to appreciate it at the time. This being the 12's little sibling maybe I should have tried this one first. Pours a deep mahogany color with a very thick and creamy light beige head. The foam actually threatened to escape the bottle immediately after opening. The aroma is a nice bouquet of fruit, spice and sweet malt. Rich bodied and on the carbonated side, with a mild blend of dark fruit, malt, caramel, spice and a hint of sweet chocolate. None of the flavors really stands out, instead it is a nice harmony of flavors. The finish is very crisp and lively on the tongue. The flavor is a little more subdued in the finish, but this is still a well-rounded and exemplary Belgian.

Bottle for rating #1300: Muddy brown, large light beige frothy head, settles somewhat quickly, fairly nice lacing.   Strong bready aroma, semi-sweet, malty, fairly assertive with the raisins, very subtle dark pitted fruit.   Moreso dark fruit skin with a touch of alcohol.   Bready on the tongue, fairly sweet, smooth yet slightly spritzy, raisin and prune emerge on the backside.   Very slight alcohol as well.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel.   Finish is a little hot, remains bready and malty.   Quite good, but perhaps a bit too subtle.   I might be a masochist, but I like stuff thats insanely aggressive.   Many thanks to John (jjpm74) for trading me this one!

Off-white, lasting head tops this brown beer. Lots of fruit and caramel and some spicy yeastiness in the aroma.Restrained caramel sweetness and bitter chocolate, warming alcohol. Bottled 6 months ago.

Enjoyed a bottle at Quinns, Kentish Town (19.09.2006). Chilled served. Coppery brown in colour with a small brownish head, leaving nice lacing on the glass. Rummy trappist aroma. Complex spiciness in flavour supported by plums, fresh fruits and some yeast. Perfect and harmoniously palate. Full bodied.

330. Thanks, Maria! Pours deep grainy and murky dark brown. Impossibly massive head, even splitting the beast between two glasses--20:1 ratio between head and actual beer for a good 30 seconds. Wet, earthy, leafy, and loamy nose. Medium body; pleasantly restrained carb and a fullness that’s not overbearing or overly weighty. Interesting mix of dark wet earth and some dark nut and cola notes along with it. Nice mild sticky sour finsh--great stuff; thanks again, Maria!

Heavenly aroma, of dried fruit, also some bitters. Dark brown, small vanilla head with some floaties. Fruit cake flavours, plums, figs and fine port. Complex, wonderfully balanced. Marvellous. Thanks for bringing this along Joey_Capps!