I'm going to be reviewing some pretty different beers this week, but before we get to those, I want to backtrack a bit and review a beer I've been meaning to review for a few weeks. This is a beer that doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves, mainly because it has a big brother that steals all the spotlight. While it's big brother, Rochefort 10, is a fantastic beer, today we're going to give Rochefort 8 the attention it deserves. At #120, Rochefort 8.
Rochefort 8 pours a deep and murky brown color with an eager foamy tan head that wells up as soon as the beer hits the glass. The aroma is rich with notes of banana, clove, fig, brown sugar, dark bread crust, vanilla custard, toffee, rum raisin, molasses, brittle and some wet earth. Whew! Did you get all that? After smelling this, I really couldn't wait to see what it tasted like.
The taste opens on the sweeter side with notes of toasted brown sugar, toffee, molasses and candi sugar. Then it progresses to some clove, bread crust, doughy malt and some indistinguishable baking spices. The finish brings in some bittersweet cocoa and some roasted malt with just a touch of alcohol. This beer isn't messing around. It's got so much packed in here, but somehow retains a nearly perfect balance. If you're looking for top notch Belgian beers to try, don't miss Rochefort 10, but don't forget about Rochefort 8.
Final Grade: A
Top 250 Beers Tasted: 131
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