Trappistes Rochefort 8
The lower gravity cousin to Rochefort 10. Nicknamed "Spéciale" (’The Special’), this beer is the most recent production. The Rochefort 8 has a more tawny colour and a more pronounced aroma, with an even richer fruitiness (a slight undertone of fig?) and a little more spiced dryness, like that of a cake, which gives a balanced finish to the final notes.
4.1
3963 reviews
Rochefort, Belgium
Community reviews
Forget all the nonsense of other reviews. They may be accurate and all that but let's just say it how it is. This beer is phenomenal.
Pours reddish brown.
Nose is sweet, some kind of anislike sense hitting my nose, some nutty flavours, perfume.
Mouth is dominated by a malty sweet backbone, flavours of anis, some liquorice, sweet dried fruits.
330ml 2016 bottle, cellar-aged. Murky dark brown with a small foamy head. Port and cognac, dried plums, dried figs and dates, dry citrus notes, caramel and toffee. Mild dry bitterness, malty fruity boozy sweetness. Full to medium bodied, oily texture, fizzy carbonated, dry malty sweet boozy finish. Nice as I remember it.
@Nice Sweet raisins aroma. Sweet, malty taste, full of raisins, banana fenols. Spicy alcohol and phenol. Malty and phenols liquor.
Caramel taste
Pours hazy deep brown, much like the color of the bottle. Medium head 2 finger. Taste is ripen fruit, some bitterness. After taste is caramel and chocolate, then some bready malt. A little earthy too. A little sharper and lighter compared to the 10. Good beer.
Quite OK.
bottle. Poured ruddy and hazy with a big beige foam. Sweet fruity aroma with alcohol tone. Medium-full bodied, highly carbonated, prickly mouthfeel, slightly astringent. Flavour of sweet malt with dark fruity notes of figs, raisins, a hint of molasses and spice.
Tomada el 10/Abril/2021. Guardada durante 5 años en bodega, a 17ºC.
Aspecto imponente en copa, servida en el cáliz de La Trappe. De color marrón oscuro y muy turbia. Espuma color marfil muy compacta y persistente.
Envejece muy bien, tiene un equilibrio perfecto entre todos los aromas y sabores. Aromas a levadura belga, fruta madura, frutos oscuros y especias. Cuerpo completo, carbonatación media/baja. Sabores intensos y complejos: algo de plátano, ciruela, pasas, caramelo, vainilla, nueces y final licoroso. El alcohol está bien integrado, aporta ese matiz licoroso y potente pero no dirías que es una cerveza del 9% ABV.
En conclusión: una de las mejores cervezas belgas. Compleja, potente, sabrosa y equilibrada.
Pours a cloudy, dark amber to mahogany coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of slightly bready, caramel malt and candied fruit, with hints of brown sugar, spice and honey as well. Taste is a great balance of slightly bready, caramel malt and strong candied fruits, with notes of fig, date and plum, as well as lighter apple and apricot, distinct brown sugar and honey, with some spicy accents of clove and cardamon as well. Finishes bittersweet, with a strong sweetness and some candied fruit, brown sugar and hints of spice lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light carbonation.
While this certainly makes for a very rich and complex example of the style, it's just too sweet for my personal taste, which is somewhat mitigated by a light bitterness in the finish, while I can also appreciate those spicy accents, but those overwhelming caramel malt, brown sugar and honey notes are bit much for me, bordering on cloying, while the fruity notes feel quite candied as well, resembling those candied fruit bits you get in fruitcakes. This certainly has a certain feel of fruitcake drenched in honey to it overall and while some may love that, it's really not for me. I much prefer the darker and a bit more roasty and bitter Rochefort 10, which is a lot better balanced to my personal taste.
Bonne bière. Un peu trop alcoolisé. Riche comme une trappiste
Bottle from Belgium via Mattias. Sweet malty aroma. Tawny brown colour as listed. Lovely taste. Like christmas pudding. Top quality belgian strong ale. (22/11/21).
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Bottle from the brewery, Rochefort. Agree with above aroma, but would add macademia nuts and walnuts to aroma. Quite boozy in the end (vodka like). It's alright but apart from the sophistication of it all, I'm not convinced im that enamoured. 3.7 to 3.5.
Low carbonation.murky.
Some lace.sweet.herbs,woody,oak,nutty. wonderfull.some alcohol flavour.
Bbf:07/04/2025
첫 느낌은 과일향이 깊게 퍼지다가 높은 알콜도수에 걸맞게 무거운 바디감이 뒤따름
Sweet
Kola toner och lite fatkaraktär. Svag banan karaktär. Lite rostad smak.
Not good. Very highly carbonated and spicy in the mouth. Dry finish, wheaty cereal Budweiser-esque ale tastes. Nothing complex or particularly smooth. Not tart or sweet.
Pours brownish, big head,medium retention. Dried fruit (figs) with addition of hazelnuts. Very nice balanced. There is alcohol present. One per night to enjoy.
Some years ago I was under the spell of "more expert evaluations" and would have never given a Ratebeer 100/100 beer a 3 of 5 rating. It's not that I rebel now, but...I really don't like that beer. It gives me no pleasure. It's thin, it's cloudy, it lacks substance. I gave it plenty of chance tasting and re-tasting - but no, there are so many much better beers in the world I will just avoid this one. If someone finds it enjoyable probably he or she feels something I fail to feel. What I get from that beer is a very definite discouragement.
330 ml bottle from Thirsty. Pours a huge off-white head and a nice brown body; aroma of banana, cloves, plums, stone fruit, alcohol; very rich and thick body; taste of figs, plum and raisin with spice and lots of warming alcohol. Strange bitter herbal aftertaste. Still can't quite get complicated beers like this one.
Like a liquid Christmas Cake. Gorgeous.
At Lior's Place, pours rusty brown with a beige head, aroma of chocolate, caramel, oxidation, flavor is oxidized with caramel, toffee, honey, wax, medium bodied
Una strong ale che non si discosta dalla tradizione belga, alta fermentazione ovviamente
Dal color bruno con riflessi rossi, schiuma bianca abbastanza compatta e persistente.
Al naso risulta meno fruttata rispetto ad altre trappiste belghe, il profumo ricorda più la vaniglia e i classici odore dei lieviti belgi.
Il gusto è dolce con note caramellate e leggermente fruttate. Retrogusto morbido e dolce.
Da gustare in un bicchiere a tulipano o classici coppe e ballan belgi. Molto importante il servizio alla giusta temperatura (12-14°C), altrimenti soprattutto il gusto risulterà alterato.
Copper brown, tall white head. Citrus, pepper aroma. Taste has a fruity start, later butterscotch, caramel and burnt sugar ending. Overcarbonated, but in style. With ch and mm at postkontoret.
Nalewa się ciemnio bursztstnowe, rubinowe, obfita piana, ale nie mocno zbita, średnio się trzyma.
W zapachu owocowo, dojrzałe śliwki, wiśnie, słodko, lekko winnie, sporo fenoli, przyprawy z lekkim bananem.
Wyraźnie nasycone, ciało jako to u belgów.
W smaku wyraźnie owocowe, ale dalej jest całkiem rześkie, tutaj więcej przypraw niż banana, chlebowa słodowość.
No smaczne, nawet bardzo.
Dark fruits. Banana esters. Caramel. Toffee. Yeasty. Vanilla. Brown sugar. Abit bready. Spices. Peppery finish. Very flavourful. Alcohol well hidden. No lacing at all after awhile. Solid belgian ale.
Bottle from Alko, pours dark brown color. Nose has plums, raisins, dark fruits, fig, yeast, caramel, toffee, malts, vanilla. Taste is quite fruity and sugary combined with Belgian yeast, complex sweet ale. Some alcohol in the taste. Long lasting aftertaste. Overall quite nice and distinct beer, a lot of sweet/sugary notes combined with the fruitiness, isn't too stuffy either.
Old rating - 330ml bottle, pours dark brown with a off white head. Aromas & tastes of dark berries, banana, pineapple, caramel, toffee, honey & yeast. Medium body. Sweet finish
Present for Dymchurch Job
One of the better trappist beers out there. Really full flavour and proper taste after drinking a sip