Trappist Westvleteren 8 (VIII) - Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren)

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BA SCORE
100
world-class
-
1,176 Ratings

THE BROS
94
exceptional
-
read more »

rAvg: 4.52
pDev: 8.19%
Reviews: 730
Hads: 446

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Brewed by:
Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren)

Belgium

Style | ABV
Dubbel | 8.00% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (729).

Notes:
(Blue Cap)

View: Beers (3) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by TRICKYD1CK:

TRICKYD1CK

France

4.75/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Bought for 9 Euros at Beer Temple in Brussels.

A - Dark as hell. A beauty in my Rochefort chalice. Small head that dissipates rather quickly, but seems to hug the sides well. Perhaps I didn't pour hard enough.

S - Dried tart fruit. I'm getting apricot, plum, even strawberry. Quite aromatic for a beer.

T - Melange up front with that brune taste of brown sugar and hints of fruitiness. Dries to a Belgian Stong Ale-like booziness as it sits in your mouth that really catches you off guard. Fantastic if you prefer bitter tastes to sweet ones. Tastes like dirt, but in a good way. Sort of like how lambics taste like dirty socks... but also in a good way.

M - This is beer. A beer drinker can tell when it's been artificially carbonated and this one is allll natural. The carbonation has a creaminess that is so hard to attain! Complements the taste of the beer exceptionally well.

O - This is why I drink beer. It's the fact that Westvleteren pays so much attention to characteristics besides just the taste that make it such a world-class brewery. I'm sad that I probably won't have this gem again for a number of years. I, personally, preferred the Blonde, but this one's a home run nonetheless.

Next Up: Rochefort 8 and St. Bernardus 8 to see how they compare!

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2011 23:53:51 | More by TRICKYD1CK

More User Reviews:

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

4.43/5 rDev -2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

thanks to mmciz for this beer!

bottle cap is dated 27:09:15.

vintage 2012.

poured into tulip glass.

Appearance: medium brown bodied beer with big fluffy 2 fingers of head! Slowely drops down to a thick cap. Leaves spotty to moderate levels of lacing on the glass.

Smell: sweet malts, tons of dark fruits, caramel, chocolate pudding, brown sugar, belgian yeast, bubblegum and bananas! What a complex nose! Really fantastic smells coming from this beer. The dark fruits greet your nose before you ever get your nose near the glass.

Taste: Huge dark fruit mostly figs, raisins, and plums. Sweet caramel and bready malts with a hint of leather. Slightly spicey and fruity belgian yeast. This beer is so clean that you dont get much of an aftertaste even though the beer is quite malty and flavorful.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied beer with moderate carbonation. Creamy and slick on the palate. Perfectly carbonated. Not a hint of 8% abv. Just a touch of dryness in the beers finish. Very well done!

Overall: This is easily the best Dubbel that I have ever drank. Its just wonderful. Benchmark for the beer style. Westy 8 is as good as they say it is!!!

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 05:52:12 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

Dave_Treat

Virginia

4/5 rDev -11.5%

05-23-2013 02:31:14 | More by Dave_Treat

zonker17

Illinois

5/5 rDev +10.6%

05-22-2013 03:42:49 | More by zonker17

PlinyBeMiney

California

4.25/5 rDev -6%

05-21-2013 06:48:59 | More by PlinyBeMiney

CosmoHopHead

Kansas

4/5 rDev -11.5%

05-21-2013 04:11:10 | More by CosmoHopHead

DoubleJ

California

4.78/5 rDev +5.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Anticipation grows as I work up the Westvleteren latter at Cafe In de Vrede. Already served from the bottle into glass as it arrived at my table. On to the beer;

The 8 is ruby brown colored with an inch of rocky head. The head retention is acceptable and it leaves some creamy lace around. The aroma is not only complex, but downright appetizing! Hello? Figs. How are you? Raisins. Quite well. Prunes. Thank you very much. Chocolate and pudding and yeast.

Don't stop there. Get that palate ready for a party. The figs make their mark right away. Raisins don't trail far behind. A kiss of grass breaks the trend of sweet notes, but make no mistake, this is not sweet as in sugar sweet. A kiss of pepper adds a kick. Chocolate pudding adds a heavenly final blow to this outstanding dubbel. The beer is full bodied with a "peppery" carbonation, and it remarkably drinkable for a dubbel.

I've had dubbels which I've enjoyed a lot. Westvleteren just topped that list with its own. With its combination of great taste and drinkability, this was my favorite of the Westvleteren family.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 23:35:47 | More by DoubleJ