thoughts on westvleteren 12 and 8?

[studentofbeer]

so ive acquired two westvleteren 12s and one of the 8s and was wondering if people have tasted these beers and what they thought? i haven't tried them yet and am wondering if i should think about trying to bottle condition one of the 12s and the 8 and for how long i might do that-- according to the guy at Sam's at least, these are pretty hard to get your hands on. how do the versions differ and how do they stack up with the other trappists? thoughts would be appreciated.

[steveh]

I've had the '8' as part of a beer of the month club - quite good. Sweet maltiness and a lot of alcohol warming - almost sharp, but not offensive. I'd compare it a little more to Salvator than, say, Westmalle - maybe somewhere in between. Haven't had the '12' yet.

I don't know how difficult it is to get these days, I've seen them both out in suburban Chi liquor stores.

In the city, the Hop Leaf, north on Clark, and the Map Room have the '8' on tap.

S.

[hopjack13]

westvleteren 12 has got to be one of the best trappists there is! i like the rochefort10 better , but westy12 is a beautiful thang! i had a bottle from '99 and 0ne from '03 i had the 99 first , i shoulda hung on to it as i didn't completely understand it at first.
by the time i tried the '03 i was better equipt and enjoyed the beer much more, i wish i'd had drunk them the other waY around. they're almost impossible to find on the west coast.
i love trappist beer! my faves, i was craving a rochefort 10 last night , but all i had was a speedway stout and a raison d' whatever, dfh, so i didn't do too bad. still woulda love to have that 10 though/

am wondering if i should think about trying to bottle condition one of the 12s


???? do you mean age one ?:confused:
they are already bottle conditioned?

[quantum24]

i have not had the good fortune of trying either of these beers, but im am trying hard to find the 12. this beer (the 12) is the highest ranked beer on ratebeer.com. i am sure that you will love both.

[studentofbeer]

oooh on tap? i gotta go try it! ive been meaning to get back to hop leaf. for some awful reason i havent been to the maproom. well ive got my plans for the next week.

yes i meant age it, sorry. im wondering if its worth doing or if i should just give it a try. my thoughts are now that ill put down one 12 for a bit, and drink one 12 and the 8, since i can get the 8 on tap. yay!

[jsmurphy]

hey hopjack13- David has both on tap at Lucky B's. ;)

[hopjack13]

Originally posted by jsmurphy
hey hopjack13- David has both on tap at Lucky B's.

HOLY TRAPPIST BATMAN!!! i,ve gotta get out to pasadina with the quickness!!!:eek:
thnx 4 the 411 jsmurphy!!!

afa laying one down , i'd say go for it student!

[Theakston]

I've never heard of Westvleteren on draft before and it seems strange that they would produce one.

Their beer is only officially sold at the abbey and in the cafe (De Vrede) across the street. It comes in a wooden case of 24 bottles, with no labels but a coloured cap to identify which beer it is (6, 8, or 12). They only produce enough beer to meet the needs of the monastery and only brew once a week.

http://www.sintsixtus.be/eng/index2.html

Of course some enterprising people take it upon themselves to buy enough to ship it to the USA. They often add labels. I've never heard of a draft being produced.

I got mine from Belgianshop.com. I'm cracking some tonight for a beer tasting dinner.

Are you sure that this is the true Westvleteren trappist? or is it the St. Barnadus - which used to be sanctioned by St. Sixtus to sell an abbey style version of these beers?

[jsmurphy]

Originally posted by Theakston
I've never heard of Westvleteren on draft before and it seems strange that they would produce one.

Are you sure that this is the true Westvleteren trappist? or is it the St. Barnadus - which used to be sanctioned by St. Sixtus to sell an abbey style version of these beers?

I'll check next time I go there, which is hopefully soon...

[studentofbeer]

theakston, that's the story i heard, that it was only available from the abbey, tho i will be heading to hop leaf in chicago probably friday to check on a draft, which would be mighty cool. if not i will enjoy my bottles. probably the most ive ever spent on beer before.

[Theakston]

Thanks guys. I look forward to hearing about the research. It's a bit far for me to go myself......but if it IS the real deal maybe we can get some around here (DC).

Research is fun.
:D

[steveh]

Originally posted by Theakston
Are you sure that this is the true Westvleteren trappist? or is it the St. Barnadus - which used to be sanctioned by St. Sixtus to sell an abbey style version of these beers?

I think you are quite correct! My mistaken identity.

S.

Footnote: St. Bernardus ABT 12 (but isn't there also an ABT 8?), is listed at Beer Advocate and the label is shown. Maybe it's the Prior 8 I'm thinking of, but I could swear I've seen 2 different labels that look identical but for the number.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/rate_results/259/1708/

[hopjack13]

last time i was at lucky baldwins they had st bernardus on tap as well as the chimay white. guess we'll have to wait till thursday to find out from murphy if it is indeed the westvleteren12 they have on tap.....unless of course i get there first ;)

[fidcastro]

I was at Lucky B's the weekend before last (and shared an EXCELLENT bottle of Gouden Carolus Grand Cru of the Emperor 2003 with Dave) and they most certainly did not have the Westvleteren 12, or any of the 3 Westvleteren's on tap. They did have some 12 in bottles...

I saved my money, though, since I still have about a case of the various Westy's in my beer fridge that I brought back from Belgium this summer...

[hopjack13]

oooowe....man! im jealous :mad:
gotta love that westy. hey fid have you tried the grand crue from the ale smith ? i saw it at hi time but didn't grab any .......yet.

[fidcastro]

Haven't tried it, but might look for it next time. I haven't been to Hi TIme since September. They screwed up my last keg order and I was a little peeved (long drive for nothing.) But since Mike was out of town at the time I guess I can forgive them. I'l just make sure I talk to him next time.

[hopjack13]

yeah i like mike he's a cool guy and he know his beer.