Westvleteren Blonde

My buddy Adam brought over a bottle Westvleteren Blonde to share that he won at the Monk’s Cafe Pliny the Younger Day raffle. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of banana, pepper, earth, yeast, and is a little bit funky. The taste is light and crisp with banana, earth, and a bit of funk. The beer is a bit sweet with a bready mouthfeel. The alcohol content is 5.8% ABV. This was a decent beer with a nice flavor and a bit of spiciness. I went in the reverse order, I believe, in my Westvleteren tasting, as I first had the 12, then the 8, and finally the blonde. While it is an excellent beer, I didn’t enjoy it enough to seek it out like I would the 12.

Westvleteren 12

I secured a bottle of Westvleteren 12 in a beer trade with Lee from Hoptopia and I decided to share it with my buddy Ed who brought over a bottle of Westvleteren 8 to share with me. The beer pours a dark brown color with hints of amber and a frothy tan head that laces nicely on the glass. The aroma consists of sweet Belgian yeast, malts, pear, and grapes. The taste is smooth and creamy with a light bubbly mouth feel. There are bits of raisin, Belgian yeast, sweet malts, pear, grapes, a light toasted malt accent, caramel, and a good breadiness that keeps the beer on the tongue. The finish is smooth yet warming with a light alcohol bite and an earthy hop accent. The alcohol content is 10.2% ABV. Not all beers live up to the hype that is attached to them, but the Westvleteren 12 certainly does. It hides the alcohol content well while letting you know that it is there, it provides a sweet treat with a well balanced earthy hop finish.

Westvleteren 8

My buddy Ed brought over a bottle of Westvleteren 8 to share with me. The beer pours a brown-amber color with floating flakes of yeast and a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of grape juice, bread, and Belgian yeast. The taste is smooth and sweet with a lot of breadiness on the tongue, some raisin, and the grape juice flavor that was in the aroma. The finish has a nice hop bite on the sides of the mouth that leaves earthy flavors lingering. The after taste is quite warming on the back of the throat. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. The Westvleteren 8 was a wonderful drinking beer that provide a wide range of flavors ranging from the sweet malts and yeast to the dry earthy hops.