Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva

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

Bottle from 2005: Tanks to Reza at 3-små rum Göteborg: Hazy red colour, with a flat head. Aroma of sour,citric and Viny. Flavor was viny and malty! MEdium body, and a medium caramely finish. A complex beer, that the aging,has done nice!

dark brown coloured body with a sparkling off white head a roasted malty aroma a roasted malty fruity sweet little sourig yeasty taste with a sweet alcoholic bitter finish nice one

Pours dark brown, with a kight brown head. Aroma is oak, fruit (apples seem to be most prominent), chocolate, alcohol, and malt. Flavor is fruit, oak, malt, molasses, and alcohol. Nice, but the regular Pannepot is better.

330 ml bottle, thanks to HogTownHarry. Poured ruby red/brown with a small pancake mix colour head. Aroma: Dark fruit, port, some spices, some nuts and a hint of alcohol. Flavour: Certainly sour, some oak and cherry, a nice spicy quality too. Some alcohol detected but it’s quite mute. A nice lingering port finish. Very enjoyable. Thanks Harry.

Very dark brown body with a deep red shine, huge beige head leaving thick patches of lacing; Not to big but balanced overly smooth nose, velvet soft with a clear refreshing ripe summer apple aroma behind; The body has the same smoothness, even the carbonation is whipped cream like smooth, is still has a slight bite in the front of the tongue; It finishes long and sharper then the rest of the beer, it still has this super smooth part but it fades and the bite in the front of the tongue takes over, super smooth aromas where the calva might show itself a little with an alcohol apple aroma.

Brown bottle, 33 cl, 2005 vintage, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, received on May 9 2008, savoured on St-Jean-Baptiste 2008; eye: bronze with caramel reflections, opaque, inviting creamy beige head, a bit of lacing; nose: caramelized malt, soya sauce, oak, light fruity, caramel, light liquorice, maple butter fabricated by uncle; mouth: velvety, caramelized malt, candied fruits, dark small berries, light soya sauce, caramel, light spices, hint of alcohol, light fruity, light liquorice, maple butter fabricated by my uncle, slightly dry well-balanced finale in caramelized malt with oak and alcohol, slightly salty, mildly sweet, fizzyness on the top of the tongue, medium-full body, nice roundness, slightly vinous, average carbonation; overall: quite good FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 33 cl, millésime 2005, via Importations Privées Bièropholie, reçu le 9 mai 2008, savourée à la St-Jean-Baptiste 2008; œil : bronze avec des reflets caramel, opaque, belle mousse beige crémeuse, un peu de dentelle; nez : malt caramélisé, sauce soya, chêne, léger fruité, caramel, léger réglisse, en rétro-olfaction, beurre d’érable préparé par mon oncle; bouche : velouté, malt caramélisé, fruits confits, petits fruits noirs, léger sauce soya, léger épices, petite pointe d’alcool, léger fruité, léger réglisse, beurre d’érable préparé par mon oncle, un peu de caramel, finale légèrement sèche et bien équilibrée en malt caramélisé avec une subtile présence de chêne et d’alcool, très légèrement salée, moyennement sucrée, pétillement sur le bout de la langue, corps moyen-corsé, belle rondeur, texture légèrement vineuse, carbonatation moyenne; en résumé : très bonne

From a 330mL Bottle. Tasted side-by-side with the other Pannepots. Dark brown, ruddy tinged pour with a healthy layer of creamy tan head. Lots of calvados aromas imparted to the beer, creating a bit of a vinous, dried fruit character. Notes of chocolate, spice, and tobacco present, but the calvados presence is a bit dominating. While still inviting, the more subtle nuances of the regular version are up-staged by the boldness of the calvados cask. Medium bodied, effervescent mouthfeel. Flavors of chocolate fudge, molasses, and hints of vanilla combine with some boozey stewed apples. Spicy oak contributes some dryness and light tannins in the finish. This certainly is a good beer, but the incredible complexity of the base beer is a bit lost in the presence of the calvados. While I can certainly see how this would be pleasant to some, it leaves me missing the beautiful malt and spice complexity of the regular Pannepot, which was clearly my favorite of the four versions tasted.

Cleveland tasting

Thanks to mike for cracking this open early on while the palate was still fresh. If Struisse did nothing but Pannepot they would be exceptional. Everything they do above and beyond sets them that much further apart. Something about this one makes it better than standard Pannnepot. I can’t pin down what it is other than perhaps the extra aging.

Aroma / Appearance - Sticky lacing clings to the sides before cascading into the deep caramel brown base. Chestnuts, plum, chocolate and oak are most evident in this rich blend of scents. It is almost on par with St Bernardus Abt 12 or Rochefort. If I was classifying this blindly it might just have been a quad.

Flavor / Palate - Chocolate pudding, caramel and chestnut soothe the senses. Next comes a dark fruitiness blended with wood and oranges. The cherry finish caps off an excellent beer that belongs near the top of everyone’s list. It is not missing anything which leads me to wonder what the brewers can do to top this in the future. If this hits the states I will definitely be buying some.