Westvleteren 8

I didn't want to put off this post any more for fear of letting the memory of this beer go to long to do it justice. Westvleteren is the final trappist brewery that I had yet to try. Due to it's lack of distribution in the US, or anywhere in the world for that matter, the only way to get it is to go to the abbey in Belgium, or find someone to ship it to you. For Christmas, my girlfriend Julia did just that, and had someone from Belgium ship bottles of both the 8 and the 12 to her. Not much is know about the abbey other than the huge reputation of their brews, both the 8 and 12 are the top rated for their styles on Beer Advocate and Rate Beer (the 8 is a dubble and the 12 is a tripel). Because of their reputation and the difficulty in getting them, they're considered the "holy grail" of beerdom. I was worried that the beer wouldn't live up to the hype, or I wouldn't like it, or I'd get a bad bottle. Fortunately this did not seem to be the case. I'm not sure how old the bottle even is, all I was told was that one of the bottles was at least a year old as the abbey only brews one style of beer at a time.

The beer poured a deep murky brown, like dark chocolate. It was strongly hazy, as can be expected with a bottle fermented beer. The head was airy and a light tan color, about a finger thick, and dissipated to 1/4 finger. After that the head stuck around for a while and left moderate lacing on the glass.

The aroma was strong, I noticed it even while pouring. There was a predominant fruit quality to it as well, some cherry and some apple in the scent. Underneath were smells of chocolate, roast, a hint of coffee, and other dark fruits. It's very similar to the smell I remember Westmalle having, but much stronger, and very sweet. There's also a harder to describe earthen quality to the smell, of old wood or clay pots.

The taste was not nearly as sweet as I expected from the smell. Chocolate is present along with cherry notes, underneath is apple cider and a touch of nutmeg. There's earthy flavors as well, with a hint of smokiness and a bit of wood. I was getting a slightly bready quality to it as well, like a rye or whole wheat bread. A nicely rounded bitterness lingers on the sides of the tongue. I detected a bit of dark fruit, possible plum as well. Despite it's relatively high strength (somewhere in the 8% range or higher), I didn't notice any alcohol in the flavor. The aftertaste is equally pleasant, with smoked wood and grain dominant in the mouth. The overall balance and complexity of this beer is amazing.

In the mouth, the first thing that jumps out about this beer is the strong, sharp carbonation. Perhaps overly so. It has a good medium body, giving it just the right amount of substance. There's a nice smooth coating on the mouth as well. Going down it has just a bit of warmth, both from the spice and the alcohol. It's not wet enough to be considered refreshing, but it's not really dry either.

The drinkability of this beer is just incredible. It's strength is not apparent in the taste, just in the after-effects. I have no desire at all to drink this one quickly, but I feel like it's a flavor I'd never get sick of. Absolutely a drink to savor and enjoy.

- Adam