Beer Review: Trappist Westvleteren 8 (aka Westy 8)

Reviewing the Trappist Westvleteren 8 (aka Westy 8) from the monks of Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren) out of Belgium.
Score: 97

"Best by" 11/30/14 according to the bottle cap. Served in a Westy 12 chalice and enjoyed on 09/17/12.

Appearance: Pours a chocolate color with some yellowish-brown color atop and mild ruby highlights at the bottom. There is excellent color depth and fade to the body of this beer, which wine aficionados should appreciate.. Pours a half finger of tan head that settles to a thin layer. Good lacing and average retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Slighty "fruity" yeast, caramel, figs and apples and a little chocolate. Some spice, a "nutty" maltiness, and a hint of brown sugar. Just a hint of alcohol esters too. 4.5/5

Taste: Figs, musty caramel malt and a hint of raw cocoa bean flavor. There is a smooth weizenbock-like banana-y yeast flavor on the center of the tongue throughout, and it lightly lingers. Unlike what the nose hints, there is no "fruitiness" to the taste really -- maybe faintly as the beer warms up. Instead, there is a dried dark fruit flavor here -- primarily figs, but a little date flavor too. Westy 8 beer is not sweet at all -- instead, it is possesses a very balanced, nuanced and drinkable maltiness. There's a very faint alcohol warmth on the sides of tongue, but no boozy flavor whatsoever. What an incredibly and carefully crafted beer! I am sure there are plenty of nuances that I just cannot pick out here. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Just shy of full bodied, and perfectly carbonated. Very creamy, slick mouthfeel. Malty, but balanced. 5/5

Overall: Easily my favorite dubbel. Call me crazy, but, at least relatively fresh, I prefer this one to Westy 12. This is such an amazing malt-dominant beer that has so much subtle complexity. I wish I had a consistent line on this stuff, cause believe me, there would always be a few of these in my fridge.

Recommendation: Seek this one out. It is better than Westy 12 fresh, and without all the fanfare.

Pairings: The Mustard Seed Cafe's harvest panini (a turkey sandwich on zucchini bread with provolone cheese, slices of apples and cranberry sauce).

Cost: $12 for a 11.2 oz bottle.