Friends went to Belgium, all I got was AWESOME

[jamesnsw]

My friends went to Belgium, and came back with this for me-

1. Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue)
2. Orval Trappist Ale
3. Westmalle Trappist Tripel
4. Trappist Westvleteren Blonde
5. Trappist Westvleteren 8
6. Trappist Westvleteren 12

Super excited to try these out.
Question- the people who brought them back for me said some may have leaked, and indeed the Westvleteren 8 seems to be sticky on the outside. Also, all of the Westvleteren bottles have some bubbles in the bottle neck- should I chalk this up to having flown across the ocean, or is this a symptom of a poor seal?
Should I attempt to tighten the existing cap with my bench capper? Should I recap with a new cap? Should I drink quickly? I was hoping to save some of these for a longer time.

 

[smellysell]

They're putting labels on Westy now huh? very nice score

 

[JetSmooth]

I don't like you any more. . .

I mean, when can I come over?

Nice score!

 

[jamesnsw]

I don't like you any more. . .

I mean, when can I come over?

Nice score!

If you come to Denver, and manage to find where I live, before I drink them, I will share a bottle with you.

 

[JetSmooth]

If you come to Denver, and manage to find where I live, before I drink them, I will share a bottle with you.

Challenge ACCEPTED!

*ding dong*

 

[DelftBlue]

They're putting labels on Westy now huh? very nice score

Don't think so - it's just a branded tape they use to package the bottles up as three packs (one of each variety). I've seen them for sale like that in Amsterdam.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Beer is meant to be drunk, not looked at. Keep them at the correct serving temp for 24 hrs and enjoy.
This might sound stupid but this is what I do when Im tasting quality beer.
I go and buy a couple of bottles of bog-standard beer (Bud or Coors, if you are in the US).open a couple and drink. Then open a bottle of the quality beer and savour the flavour and aroma. By drinking crap beer first it really does accentuate (sp) the flavour of the quality beer.
You can also try this method with your HB and youll be surprised at the results. Drink one of your HB`s and give it a mark out of 10 (be honest) then drink a couple of Buds/Coors. Then drink another HB and give it a mark out of 10.
The reason behind this is that your taste buds are very easily confused.

P.S. I do not, under any circumstances, recommend drinking mass produced tastless beer, I use the word beer in the loosest terms.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

Isn't that Westie 12 the #1 beer in the world (beeradvocate) ?

I'd love to get my hands on that!

 

[jamesnsw]

Isn't that Westie 12 the #1 beer in the world (beeradvocate) ?

I'd love to get my hands on that!

Yeah... And Westie 12 is like #15... I owe them SOO much homebrew now.

 

[Anthony_Lopez]

I think you meant Westie 8... Regardless. Congrats on that haul. Unreal...

 

[jamesnsw]

I think you meant Westie 8... Regardless. Congrats on that haul. Unreal...

Yeah, you're right. I meant 8.