beer_name: Trappistes Rochefort 8
text: Bottle Date 30 05 06, served at cellar temp. 26th birthday beer, October 21, 2004 Wow, what a beautiful looking beer! I seem to get easily wowed by Belgian (especially Trappist) ales. The 8 has a murky (yeast), garnet-brown body with a big, towering, light-tan dollop of head. Wonderful lacing. Aromas of rich, sugary plums, candy, spicy yeast, brandy, oak, and champagne tang greet my 26 year old nose. Nice. Taste starts with notes of lightly sweet fruit (raisins) and oak. Other fruits chime ingrapes, appleswith an underlying base of sugary malt. Mouthfeel gets chewier mid-palate. As it moves into the finish, caramelized sugar and yeast take over. Finish is yeasty, and sticky with an underscored tangy bittersweetness. Slightly alcoholic, and warming. A very nice beer to kick off my birthday night.