Westvleteren Blonde

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Big thanks to Oldsmar Tap House owner Tony (RIP) for popping open the rare elixir. Pours pale dull gold with slight haze. The bright white head faded to a ring within a minute or two. The aroma is fairly mild with a mixture of faint pale malt sweetness, lightly roasted malts that play against mild yeastiness. Behind that I get some fresh bright citrus hops along with just a hint of dates and prunes. The taste is light and refreshing starting with a quick hit of mild malty sweetness followed by a growing tart bitterness mixed with light yeasty spice. Midway the bitterness peaks with notes of citrus. This isn’t an overly bitter beer but has a solid hop taste. At the finish mild pale malt sweetness surfaces before a mild tartness joins in. Great refreshing brew that will work great in hot weather.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Cloudy golden yellow with small white foam head. Aroma is kind of sweet caramel with bitter tones. Taste is bittersweet with good dry bitter aftertaste. (Velp 201212)

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Enjoyed this one at Pub Italia, Ottawa, ON, with Chopz. Poured into an immense glass chalice/goblet, it has a pretty good size foamy head, and keeps a thin layer to the end. Has a hazy light orange appearance. Lots of carbonation. Yeasty sediments are quite visible (bottled mid '11) Great retention and active carbonation throughout. Has orange/citrus, pears and yeasty aromas. Very strong orange flavour. Some citric type flavours bordering on tropical, sort of mild mango. Some spices as well. The finish has a hint of hop in the taste, not much in aromas. Good tangy mouthfeel, smooth going down. For my first real Belgian Trappist ale, quite pleased!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

C: hazed gold, frothy white cap
A: grains, citrus, honey, light fruit
P: medium
F: yeast, citrus, grains
O: Very different from the 8 and 12, yet still very enjoyable

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

July 26, 2012
Bar Volo (Toronto, Ontario, Canada – 587 Yonge Street)
330ml bottle
5.8% ABV
$39.49
This completes the triumvirate of the publicly available Westys for me. The beer poured a hazy golden yellow colour with a thin, long lasting white head. The aroma was yeast, citrus, and some earthy tones. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with mild carbonation. The flavour is yeast, citrus, and light fruits with some breadiness in the malt

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Very similar to Duvel, with sediment in the bottle, pretty similar long-lasting head. I get no citrus tones - Duvel seems to have it and it adds a little crispness to the drink. This Westy Blonde is lacking that refreshing feeling, it's sort of a stagnant feeling. There's a slight sourness, sort of like eating the rind of an orange. I mixed in the sediment near the end, and that really smoothed out the flavor. This is a rare beer, and I recommend this only to those of you that are truly seeking this out. If you just want to know what it tastes like, pick up a bottle of Duvel and it's very close. I say Duvel is better due to its cleaner, more refreshing taste.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

What is this? Trappist Light? It pours a pale gold colour, plenty of haze, and a big white cap. Yeast, malt, and sugar make up the bulk of the aroma although some other funk can be discerned. Flavour is slightly sweet, yeasty, and finishes bitter. I expected better from Westvleteren.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

The next 8 or so beers were courtesy of pfoxyjohn. A late morning early afternoon tasting in the Barrrrn: Into the glass it pours a bright cloudy golden colour with a fairly large white head. Noticeable tartness or maybe lots of yeast, that could be it. Lemon peel, orange rind on the nose with a very astringent mouthfeel. Has a pleasent carbonation all the way down with thousands of tiny little bubbles dancing around the mouth.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Thanks again to Pfoxyjohn for sending this up my way. This beer poured a clear golden color with a tall white head and great carbonation. The head puffed up like a cloud and the aromas consisted largely of malt with some wheat notes coming through. The beer showed great head retention and even better lacing. I did detect some hops in the aroma, but it was masked by an abundance of complexity. The flavor was very balanced with hints of malt, lemon, hay, and fresh cut grass. The finish was dry. The St. Sixtus monks definitely live up to their reputation with this one.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Aromas of fruits, spices, malts and yeasts. Appearance was a murky apricot hued body. ample carbonation gave it a thick pillowy white cap, that left thick lace. Flavor started with the fruits, then a spicy, bready malt presence showed, and it had a dry slightly bitter finish, with a nice fruity aftertaste. Overall a nice blonde thats worth seeking out.