Usually there is a date printed on the bottle (sometimes the cap). Remember the Europeans go dd/mm/yy instead of mm/dd/yy. I think they may code in the ‘best by’ date as 5 years from the date of bottling, but I’ve had them 2-3 years beyond that (and Rochefort 10 and Chimay Blue) and they are still wonderful.
Are you sure on that? Haven’t sold Westy in over a decade, but I had bought the last ones in the store along with some Rochefort 10 of almost the same date and I could have sworn I cellared them for 4 years together before hitting the date. Need to check the R10s in the store; perhaps they’ve pulled back the ‘best by’ window to encourage more short term drinking
Just checked the two 8’s and one 12 we’re having tonight for Thanksgiving dinner. They’re kind of older. 01/03/15 on the 8’s, and 20/05/14 on the 12. Guess we’ll see how these dusty old bottles do.