i have an alfine 8 on my winter bike. it's functioned just fine for me over the last 5 winters.

my only complaints: it's HEAVY. it's draggy, particularly at colder temps (which is less than ideal for a winter bike). and removing the rear wheel is a bit more complicated (but it's not really that hard if you practice at home a few times to familiarize yourself).

in retrospect, the afline 8 was overkill for my needs, i really don't have much use for 8 speeds for commuting in this unrelentingly flat city. if i had to do it all over again, i'd probably go with one of those bombproof SA 3 speed hubs that everyone speaks so highly of.