Westvleteren Blond
(has 11 batches)

330ml bottle, shared at La Tana (Rome). Best before 2010, what a drag it is getting old! (especially for a belgian ale). Poured a cloudy golden bright color with a medium white head. Aroma is honey, flowers, a touch of orange peel. Flavour is undefined, sweet but evanescent, some honey traces, so watery. It totally lacks its body! Just a note: This rate should not count on the overall value of this beer which remains a world class when fresh!

[2/15] Bottle. Slightly hazy pale gold with a white head that lasts well. Aroma is spicy and floral with light dough, lemons. Fairly high carbonation, creamy alive texture. Not so yeasty as it smells, more hay than dough, some apricot, lovely lemon and quite punchy (but not overbearing) spices, dry at the end with moderate bitterness. Refreshing, elegant. [4]Can’t read the date. Citrus sadly mostly missing, but the finish is still great: dry, bitter enough, expressive spices. [3.8] Averaging score.

330 ml bottle. Pours a yellow/draw color with light retentive head. Aromas of apples, light peach, grain and Belgian yeast. Flavors of apples and bitter citrus, with herbal/floral notes. A very subtle and pleasant beer.

330ml bottle. Pours light gold with a medium head. Aroma is spritzy lemon, coriander and a little funky farmhouse yeast. Taste is yeasty with lemon. Light sweet peppery finish.

330ml bottle courtesy of skullgeorge. Hazy golden color with white head. Dusty malty and yeasty aroma, citrusy fruity, banana, some funky notes. Sweet and bitter taste like aroma. Medium oily body with soft to average carbonation.

0,33l bottle, best before 3/10/2015, souvenir from my colleague’s trip to Antwerp over New Year’s Day. Clear, pale golden yellow with a frothy, stable, white head. As good as a pale ale can look. Almost witbier-like aroma of banana, lemon, vanilla and cloves with sweetish and sourish hints in the background as in a saison. Really appetising although not that strong. Taste is full of banana and yeast with hints of cloves and lemon. Good. It starts just slightly sweet and becomes more bitter towards the finish. A slight tartness remains on the tongue. Medium body, very creamy mouthfeel, average carbonation. Decent brew although I expected way more regarding aroma and flavour. Don’t get me wrong, that beer is pure quality, but it lacks some excitement. Therefore a bit disappointing.

The ’green cap’ in the holy Westvleteren Trinity, replacing the old ’red cap’ dubbel since 1998. Hazy peach blonde beer with a thick, rocky, yellowish white, very stable head, clearly hops-enhanced; yeasty and dryishly malty aroma, grassy and leafy hops, orange peel, white pepper, bitter honey, peach, dough, hint of banana but also a faint presence of cooked cabbage; fruity onset, in a dryish way, pale malt sweetness, a bit grainy, sourish and spicy yeasty hints, smooth, evolving into a leafy and grassy hop bitter and yeasty finish. Used to be one of the top Belgian blond ales, with a crisp, ’green’, utterly refreshing and quenching hoppiness, but more recent tastings I did appeared less hoppy and more balanced towards the malts. Still a very genuine and ’honest’ beer though, of course on a totally different level compared with its dark brethren, but very enjoyable. Does not age well though: the fresher you can taste this, the better, with a young sample from tap at De Vrede at the top end of the scale.