Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva

Brewed by De Struise Brouwers
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Oostvleteren, Belgium

2005 bottle, though I think that is the brew date, not the bottling date. This is my 3rd or 4th time drinking this beer but for some reason I haven’t rated it yet. Pour is murky, very dark brown, with a minor lasting head. This beer retains the sweetness of the un-aged version, while adding some layers of oak as well as some vegetal notes. Lots of white and candi sugar here but no caramel, just a robust, winey, yet very refined sweetness. Lovely body with some light tart notes. Excellent.

330 ml bottle, 2005. Rating 1200 and my 100th Belgian Strong. Brown with some tan froth and suspended bits. Nose is raisin, brandy, fig and toffee with hints of vanilla. Medium light with a tang. A bit thinned by the barrel aging. Taste is raisin, brandy, pear, peach, nutmeg, clove and candi. A delicate sweetness is nicely balanced by the vinous sour wood.

Bottle thanks to Fonefan. Waiting a long time to try this beer. Went searching in Europe twice with no luck. Pours dark red with a quick diminishing off-white head. Aroma was full of sweet dark fruits with a hint of alcohol. Starts sour and end in a wonderful sweetness. Medium bodied with nice carbonation. Well worth the wait.

Complex aroma evokes dates, figs, cookie dough, plums, brown sugar, vanilla and some alcohol. Opaque darkest brown body is topped by a decent tan-brown head that recedes slowly to a decent cover with some lacing. Flavour blends oranges with plums, brown sugar, cookie dough, alcohol, chocolate and vanilla. Light underlying sourness and dark malt character that lingers in the aftertaste. Medium full body with very pleasant strong effervescence that prickles the tongue and cheeks. Tulip glass. Cellar temperature. Bottle (2005 vintage) received as a gift in Nov-08. Thanks, MartinT!

I had this beer on my want list for a long time and I almost walked out of Beer Bistro in Toronto without trying it...my wife stopped me at the door. Pours brown with a tan head. Aroma of booze, dark fruit, and some oak. Deep dark fruit flavor. The beer is actually thick and still has some booze to it. Very sweet. Glad to finally try it.

330ml bottle, vintage 2005, bought in May 08 at the one and only Ølbutikken, Copenhagen. Bubbly, light brown head resting on top of a murky, brown-orange body. Smell of dried fruits with the underlying vapour of alcohol. Tart grapes, plums and apples in a well-balanced flavour profile. Bitter ending with warming alcohol beneath. Quite smooth in the mouth. Medium to full bodied. Enjoyable, though a little bit too vinous (Tromsø, 06.04.2009).

Bottle shared with Hophead22, DuffmanSW, and JoeTheYounger along with some others at Hangar 22. Pours a thick dark brown with little head. aroma is boozy with dark dried fruits and plenty of oak characteristics. Flavor is candy sweet and fruity, coppery and a bit tart. Finish is a killer. cloying as hell. Super viscous. It left a terrible sticky feel lingering for a while.

33 cL bottle, much thanks to ygtbsm94. Pours an opaque dark brown with soapy tan head and some visible yeast sediment. A swirl in my snifter leaves nice legs on the side of the glass, to which the foam sticks nicely. The aroma is sweet rum and raisin bread, plum, pear, little touches of chocolate, vanilla, and oak, a hefty dose of yeast, and some spicy alcohol notes. The flavor is very fruity, with plum, raisin, black cherry, pear, and a lot of ripe papaya. Behind all that fruit is some rum and oak. There’s quite a bit of sweetness here, and all those sugars give it a sticky, almost syrupy mouthfeel. Spicy alcohol and some wooden bitterness take over the finish, which really helps cut the sweetness and keep it from becoming too cloying. Very tasty beer, though to be honest, I was hoping for a much deeper complexity.