Trappist Westvleteren Blond
Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren)

Trappist Westvleteren BlondTrappist Westvleteren Blond
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From:
Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren)
 
Belgium
Style:
Belgian Blonde Ale
Ranked #1
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,441
Avg:
4.26 | pDev: 9.62%
Reviews:
478
Ratings:
1,018
Status:
Active
Rated:
Tuesday at 08:48 PM
Added:
Mar 23, 2002
Wants:
  516
Gots:
  176
(Green Cap)

Served cool, the beer turns a slightly cloudy blond with a dense head and plenty of bubbles. Pleasant, fresh and fruity aroma of citrus and a zest of lime. The taste is nicely balanced with the sweetness of the malt and a firm bitterness originating from the hops. The delicious citrus note provides a delicate and refreshing taste, which results in an excellent dry aftertaste.
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Photo of Sinte
Reviewed by Sinte

4.17/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Bottle 0.33L.
Cloudy golden body with an average, creamy, white head, fully lasting with very nice lacing; some lees are evident.
Complex aroma: moderate malty (cereals) and hoppy (citrus, flowers) and light yeasty (cardboard) with notes of spices (cloves) and fruits.
Flavour is mainly acidic and sweet with some bitterness in the finish.
Light-to-medium body with watery-to-oily texture; average carbonation; some astringency in the finish.
Tuesday at 08:48 PM
 
Rated: 4.78 by micada from New York

Jan 20, 2025
Photo of sokol_1993
Rated by sokol_1993 from California

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Got a bottle from Sterk, Amsterdam. A very good blonde.
Jan 04, 2025
 
Rated: 4.25 by cryptichead from Illinois

Dec 25, 2024
 
Rated: 4.37 by darktronica from Indiana

Dec 12, 2024
 
Rated: 4.24 by arjanm from Netherlands

Dec 07, 2024
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

4.05/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.75
I'm glad I finally found this Blond and my Westvleteren trio is now complete.
I also went on their website for the first time (well done) and am starting to see the brilliance of this abbey's reticence with the public. Their reserve is genuine, but it is presented in such a way (perhaps by coincidence) that it employs a key marketing strategy: uniqueness. While the Trappists are unique (and they also employ that brilliant strategy), Westvleteren may be the most unique... or maybe #2 after Orval, your choice.

For this Blond, I'm less impressed than their darks; but still impressed. Looks are only slight above average. Smells are mostly malt with a clear clue that hops are in there. They are in the Tastes, almost in the attack and certainly by mid-palate they dominate. Now, some people like this. But I'm not one of them, but I still don't deduct much because of the Trappist trademark. Medium-mouthed. But the hops do interfere. While Blond was good enough with the appetizers, Blond was not intended and should not be used as a table ale. (Most Belgian Blonds are table ales on my table.)

Overall marks because Westvleteren is who they are.
Nov 29, 2024
 
Rated: 4.18 by moysauce from Illinois

Nov 23, 2024
Photo of Luscious_Malfoy
Reviewed by Luscious_Malfoy from Illinois

4.49/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 330mL bottle into a Westvleteren XII mini goblet. Pours a cloudy gold with a dense two fingers worth of white foam head. Big Belgian yeast aromas on the nose. Spicy almost peppery with clove, light banana and citrus as well as as some doughy bread. Taste follows with less spice and more citrus. So good. Not a super in-your-face Belgian yeast flavor profile. More subtle but still present and still flavorful. Funny to say a ~6% beer is a sipper but I’ve always felt these Belgian ales are and this is no exception. The bold flavors imparted from the yeast keep me at least from being able to down this quickly. Full mouthfeel with a creamy finished. Ample carbonation to it. A brilliant Belgian blonde.
Nov 20, 2024
 
Rated: 4.31 by LunchMoney from Minnesota

Oct 18, 2024
Photo of HoppyBastard
Reviewed by HoppyBastard from Nebraska

4.49/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from an 11.2 ounce bottle into a tulip glass, the date on the bottle is "03/04/25" which I understand to mean April 3, 2025, the brewery recommends drinking within 3 years of bottling so this means the beer was brewed on or about April 3, 2022, I purchased this as part of a mixed six pack from Westvleterenshop.com for USD $203.51, beer $139.00, shipping $52.99, tax $11.52. I purchased on 6-19-24 and received just eight days later in the mail on June 27, 2024.

APPEARANCE: in a word spectacular, almost gave this a 5, pours a gorgeous hazy, gold color with two-fingers off-white head, excellent retention, the head slowly dissipated until a complete cap remained throughout, heavy lacing on the glass, higher carbonation.

SMELL: a beautiful nose as well, initially sweet pears and lemon then bread.

TASTE: the taste follows the nose, initially sweet fruits like pear and lemon then bread and an earthy hop finish, very complex for the style, the taste really lingered in the most wonderful way.

PALATE: medium body and higher carbonation really made this beer show out.

OVERALL: This beer is ranked number one for the style, this ranking is well deserved, I did not rank high because of scarcity or hype, it's just a beautiful beer and better than any other I have had in this style, it's not worth what I paid for it but it was either this or hop a plane to Belgium and that would be even more expensive, I have now had all three beers from Westvleteren. I liked the Blonde the best, the Dubbel was a close second and the famous Quad Westvleteren 12 the least among them, but still an excellent beer to be sure. I may never have these beers again but I'm so glad I had the opportunity to try them.
Jul 04, 2024
 
Rated: 5 by Hippie_Shawn from Canada (ON)

Jun 19, 2024
Photo of not2quick
Reviewed by not2quick from Missouri

4.26/5  rDev 0%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Look- Color has a foggy golden hue with two fingers of fluffy white head. Very tight bubbles that slowly dissipate. Stunning pour. 5

Smell- Light spice and fruity notes. Some lemon and earthiness as well. 4

Taste- Very mild hops and slightly bitter finish. Light clove and lemon citrus notes. 4.25

Feel- Perfectly carbed with a nice tinglely bite. Crisp with a medium body. 4.50

Overall- Light and crushable. A well balanced and clean beer worthy of being one of the best examples of a belgium blonde. 4.25
May 16, 2024
 
Rated: 4.21 by sculder from New York

May 13, 2024
 
Rated: 4.5 by FLBeerGuy from Florida

May 05, 2024
Photo of jonmikel
Reviewed by jonmikel from Spain

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Bought at De Bierkoning shop in Amsterdam and drunk in a boat tour through Amsterdam channel.

Hazy yellow with a nice head.
The aroma of grains, yeast.
Taste of bready notes and oaky notes along with touches of citrus fruit.
Really great balance with medium carbonation.
A light body with a smooth feel.

Good beer!
May 01, 2024
 
Rated: 4 by rare_bird from Michigan

Mar 22, 2024
Photo of Lexluthor33
Reviewed by Lexluthor33 from New York

4.88/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Hazy yellow with a nice head.
The aroma of grains, yeast.
Taste of bready notes and oaky notes along with touches of citrus fruit.
Really great balance with medium carbonation.
A ight body with a smooth feel.
Feb 27, 2024
 
Rated: 4.34 by smi69 from New York

Jan 10, 2024
 
Rated: 4.5 by akk14 from Illinois

Dec 10, 2023