I found some bottles of Westy in the back of one of my fridges that I forgot I had. I purchased these bottles in Belgium in, I think 2012. Is it safe to assume the blonde is likely bad? Im definitely going to try it regardless. But more curious what everyones opinions are on the 8 and 12. Has anyone tried these beers with this much age? Can they age longer? The caps have dates stamped on them. Safe to assume these are expiry dates? The bottles of 12 have “18.04.15”, the bottles of 8 have “28.03.15” and the blonde has “02.03.13”. Cheers!
I drank a 2012 Westy 12 in December 2019 and I thought it was great. Less of the fruity/bubblegum flavor I got when it was fresh, had a lot more of the toffee notes.
Good to know. I’m going to crack a bottle of the blonde and 8 tonight. Fully expecting the blonde to be bad but hoping the 8 is good.
Surprisingly pretty good! Carbonation was great. Head retention was low but not bad. I honestly don’t recall how these tasted as it’s been a long time since I’ve had one but it definitely had that Belgium yeasty sweetness. Not much spice to speak of. Maybe a hint of banana on the nose and tongue. Now cracking the 8! Hoping for more spice on this one.
I love it when an aged beer exceeds expectations....if only I could not drink through my stash all the time to do it more often!
Then there is only one advise: buy more beer. Back in 2006, as a beertaster located in Belgium I started stashing beer in my cellar. I am buying a crate of beer (or an equivalent in larger bottles) every two months. I only buy bottle-conditioned beer, both blond and red and brown and black. For years, I did not buy any Westvleteren since all Americans were crazy about them and I decided to give them right of way to buy Westies. All in all, I was glad you Americans were buying them and were leaving other Belgian gems of the hook. Now, I am buying Westvleteren again since 2018. I will always wait until the expiry date has passed. As from then, the beer starts to evolve and deepen. (My first post here in times of corona lockdown)
