Westmalle Extra
The golden blonde Westmalle Extra is only brewed twice a year, primarily for use within the abbey. Westmalle Extra is the table beer served to the monks and their guests and is brewed with water, barley malt and hop cones. The Westmalle Dubbel and Tripel yeast is also used for this beer. Westmalle Extra is also top-fermented but it is considerably lighter, at 4.8%, alcohol-by-volume than its brother brews. It has the characteristic Westmalle aroma with hops coming through in the finish. It is a real thirst-quencher.
3.5
619 reviews
Malle, Belgium
Community reviews
Poured from 330mL bottle (bottled 24/11/2022; bb 24/11/2024). Clear blonde with white head. Light Belgian yeast, floral notes, decent.
Mild fruit aroma with notes of grassy hopes, malt and yeasts. Pale hazy beer with nice white head. Taste mostly copying the aroma with small bitterness in crisp aftertaste. Body medium, carbonation medium.
Klare gelbe Farbe mit weißer Schaumkrone. Malziger, hefiger, leicht grasig hopfiger Geruch. Geschmacklich malzig, hefig, grasig hopfig, leicht fruchtig. Mittlere Süße mit mittlerer Bitterkeit, mittlerer Körper mit spürbarer Kohlensäure.
Bottle from Cheers Liquor Store, Todmorden. Golden with a creamy-frothy head. Mild fruit notes, some yeast, but not the most exciting of Low Countries brews, feeling a little lager-esque, somewhat bland, and is quite gassy too.
330ml bottle from the Hop Inn, Hornchurch. Pours slightly hazy straw with a white head. Aroma of malt and Belgian yeast. Similar taste. Bitter finish.
Bottle. Poured clear pale color with an average frothy white head that lasted with very good lacing. Moderate yeasty balanced aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. Moderate fruit ester sweet flavor with a moderate sweet finish of medium duration. This beer met my expectations.
From bottle at MB2 11.04.23. Very pale and clear straw colour. Bright white foamy head. Superb aroma and taste of Belgian yeast, hay, pale malt, coriander and grassy hops. Fine bitterness is lingering on. Excellently balanced.
Aroma is sweet Belgian yeast and beery malts. The flavor is fruit, malts, good carbonation and a slightly sweet/spicy Belgian yeast finish.
Pours hazy gold into a trappist glass. Foamy white head crackles and recedes to a one finger head. Biscuit, coriander and citrus aromas. Crisp with sweet toasted herbed bread and melon upfront turning to mildly bitter pith and peel in the dry, lasting finish.
Insipida
Bleg gylden hazy, med en del hvid skum ved ophældning som svinder. Aroma er lidt bitter hø, med noget hvede frugtigt, smagen er lidt en dinensionel, bitter, vandet. Lidt kedelig for en trappist
Jaune nuageuse, forte mousse. Nez fruité levuré herbeux, un peu citronné avec coté wit, vraiment extra. Gout pareil leger et subtile, levuré belge, pas mal!
Bottle (Nov 24, 2022 bottling). Head is initially large/huge, frothy/creamy, rocky, white, fully lasting. Body is hazy light to medium yellow, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain, cracker), lightly hoppy (herbs), moderately yeasty (cobwebs, basement), with light notes of pineapple and concrete. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic.
It really is a miniaturized version of the Tripel, sharing the same yeast-driven aroma (which is very pleasant but short of exciting) and bone dry finish, but this benefits from less alcohol for a much more chill drinking experience. Just enough residual to still be lip-smacking, and the mouthfeel is delightfully fluffy. Can't beat the appearance either. Really nice quaffer, and great to see that this brewery is keeping the quality high to this day.
Pours clear solar yellow with a thick ivory head. Aroma delivers sweet stonefruit, butterscotch, resiny hops. Flavor presents sweet stonefruit, mainly nectarine and peach, plus bitter piney hops and butterscotch. Texture gives nice firm body and lively fizz. Extra, extra, drink all about it.
Pours a cloudy light brass with a medium white head that dissipates pretty rapidly. Aroma is on the lighter side for a Trappist. Somewhat straightforward. Yeast, bread, light grains. First sip is lighter on the palate and perhaps given away by the lighter than expected head. Lively carbonation. It’s a bit more watery upfront than I would have expected too. A very slight sweetness under the grain forward flavor, and while note at all bitter, a touch more bitterness than I would expect right away. This might be unfair but it’s as if somebody took a higher end run of the mill Pilsner and put just a touch more effort into it. ‘Twas okay. Probably wouldn’t pick it up again.
Aroma is light lemon and clove. Above average carbonation. Moderately bitter. Slightly sweet on the finish. Fairly good.
Bottle 33 cl. Yellow gold color, foam is white, lush, with lace. Aroma: spicy yeast, shades of pear, apple, coriander, gray bread, flowers and herbs spicy, light sourness. Taste: light, but quite rich, malty biscuits, hop and yeast shades, a little grassy and spicy, apple, pear, light and refreshing sourness and delicate bitterness in the end. Very good light beer!
Been waiting a long time to try this, big thanks to the shaw of PTC. From the start its clear pale with a big rocky foamy head that does not dissipate. On the nose it does come across with a slight metallic eel. Up front its got a very good cutting co2 impact, sizzling. Rather smooth and certainly in the class of Orval but it has a bitter bite hiding in the back that keeps sticking its head up to greet me. I'm actually having fun drinken this stuff. I'm to the end of the bottle already. DARN! I need to get a 4 pack of these, just to try this again; one after the other, 4 in a row. I really appreciate the low alky content in this stuff.
330ml bottle. Pours abright, hazy gold with a massive fluffy white head. Beautiful yeasty smells. Big Belgian yeast forward tastes with a good malt balancing the bitter finish. Above average carbonation and a fizzy mouthfeel. Very nice.
Redelijk van smaak maar valt ver buiten de trappist bieren.
330mL bottle, pours a hazy pale golden with a medium white head. Aroma brings out a wonderfully fragrant, spicy, moderately floral Belgian yeast character, with a touch of dough and light lavender. Flavour is on the dry side, with a really nice spicy Belgian yeast character upfront, followed by light lavender and other floral notes, and a crisp doughy, biscuity malt base. Wonderful Belgian yeast expression and highly drinkable. Excellent.
Cloudy dark gold with a huge fluffy head that left great lacing. Dryish and a bit musty with citrus and perfume and undertones of graininess and yeastiness. Long finish. Medium body.
It pours a hazy straw yellow with a huge, rocky, white head. It has the aroma of pear, vanilla, wheat & Belgian yeast. This is a very well brewed & clean beer. I taste hints of pear, vanilla & cream of wheat, with a silky mouthfeel. It finishes crisp, dry, clean & refreshing. This beer was a wonderful treat to drink.
From a bottle with an Apr 7, 2024 BB date. Golden appearance under a modest soft white head. Aroma of apricot, pear, white bread, and Belgian sugar. The body is light and smooth. The taste is sweet and fruity with a crisp and clean finish.
Zoete blonde smaak. Zou dat nou dat extra zijn? Goeie Belgisch variant maar wel met een verrassend percentage van slecht 4,8 procent. Dit maakt wat deze Westmalle idd “met de hakken over de sloot, net een beetje extra boven de middenmoot uit stijgt. Licht beetje droog, gemiddelde bitter zoet met een klein hopje. Wazig geel wit en Maltig zoet geurend. Fles XII ‘22 # Proefglas
(Rate 07/12/22: 6-4-6-4-12 = 3.2)
Almost clear golden pour with huge white head; good retention and lacing. Rather faint aroma with some Belgian spicy yeast, malts and fruits. Taste also rather light, moderate bitter-sweet, with the yeast but without very much other specific characteristics. Very strong carbo. Light brother of the famous tripel, but surely less impressive; more a Westmalle version to be able to keep on drinking.
(Re-rate 02/09/23: 5-4-6-3-11 = 2.9)
Nearly clear yellow pour with again a huge white head, retaining very well. This time I don't get more aroma than maltyness. Taste nicely bitter but also a bit watery. Light feel and soft carbo that s time. Not impressed.
Golden pour, large foamy head. Nose is malt, floral, yeast. Middle is biscuit, Belgian yeast, sweet floral, citrus, light kilned malt. Finish is dry and refreshing.
Pale colour, large frothy head that stays very long. Aroma is coriander, wheat, a bit of citrus. Light bitterness. Light body, easy to drink. Good!
Bottle from bottleworks; I'm glad they are distributing this more broadly.
Dry and dusty with the esters quickly covering over the dust. A bit mineral on the very long finish. Nice.
I haven’t had this style in a while, a nice change from the more robust one. Well done, tasty and nice aroma.