Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva

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

Bottle @ Ölbutikken. brown color with tan head. Sweet strong cocolate raisin. Taste sweet and strong caramell raisin dark malt chocolate brandy.

Bottle labeled vintage 2005 - does that mean there will be more of these... Awesome. Pours a clear dark brown with a medium off-white head and a few yeast floaties. Loew sweetness with a mellow berry-like sourness and a very light bitterness. Aromas of raisins, fondue cheese, cask wood and berries. Hints of smoke. Tiny alcohol notes. Long slightly dry berry like dry finish. OK, I thought this would be a hyped up version of the regular Poannepot... but I was wrong. It is SO good. I espesially like the berry-ish/red wine like sourness. It gives it a nice and really fresh touch.

Bottle thanks to cgarvieuk. Aroma is sweet, fruity, rich malts, candy sugar, nutmeg, hints of spice and quite a noteable bit of apple. Taste is nice and tasty sweet and drinkable, very good mouthfeel. This is a hot beer man, but like the ordinary pannepot is soo vasty superior(and also better than the reserva), im hazarding a guess that this beer surely is best as it comes and not barrel aged, which in turn reinforses my idea that 99.999999999999% of beers out there are very much unsuited to barrel aging. Im glad i have another 2 bottles as i think i’ll age one and have the other with some friends. Im thinking also now that this may infact be more drinkable, in that it slips down very easy, compaired with the regural pannepot, but the complexity of the spice and malty sweetness is missing.

Beer No. 4000 and our third big milestone celebrated with a Struise beer.
A Sim rate: This is one of the most amazing aromas I’ve ever smelled. It’s sour apple jolly ranchers and pear jelly bellies. It’s the sweetest red wine vinegar...with truffle. Different every time. Grapes, strawberry. A fruit salad marinated in brandy, just how my dad makes it. And the cream whipped with vanilla essence just to finish it off. The first sip hits you like a rush of brandy. It’s tingling on the back of the tongue and hot going down. The flavours aren’t quite as light and fruity as the aroma. They’re darker, deeper: red wine and dark cherry chocolate liqeurs. Sneaky brazil nuts usurp the finish. I could drink this all night. Sadly, I only have half a bottle to myself. I’m sure that there will be a time and place where I can enjoy more ;) Absolutely delightful.

Mes’s notes:
I have had many bottles of this, mainly thanks to Urbain and Carlo but I also have to thank Brad and this one that my lovely Mrs and I are finally getting round to rating at home is thanks to Craig. This is a beautiful looking beer. It’s that sort of vampyr black / purple with glorious condition and a good beige head that is a clear trademark of my favourite brewer. When swilled you can see the head seeping into the darkness and it looks amazing, something that would not work quite so well if it were pitch black. Ok, there may be swearing ahead folks, I apologise. Fanfuckingtastic aroma. It’s close to a 10. The calvados and wood is clear as day but it dances back and forth like a flirty little tart with nail polish (a smell I love dearly), vintage perfume, cherries, plums and luscious thick alcohol. There is definite Coca Cola in there too. Bollocks to it, thats a 10. Yeah, that’s the aroma done I think. The flavour is not quite so good. Don’t get me wrong it’s still bloody excellent but it’s a little too sugary, the tartness of the Calvados shows a little too clearly and I just can never get into dried fruity notes too much. All that aside, the base of the Pannepot is still evident and that can never be a bad thing. The balance of the sourness against the thick and chewy sweet malt flavours is just excellent. The finish is huge and develops beautifully. There is a huge hit of alcohol too but the rest of the beer is so powerful it carries it really well. This is not my favourite from Struise but is still worthy of a huge score. Struise seriously rock.
Numbers: 10/5/8/4/17

Incidentally, we had a tasting at the Farm once and Urbain opened about 5 bottles of this, maybe more. As we were all going mad and drinking Mikkeller Black, Peche Mortel, Dirty Horse, Aardnon, etc. etc the 5 PGRs were left on the table (oh the decadence) Sim, good little sport that she is, bravely polished them all off and had nothing more than a sip of everything else. It made for a most entertaining ride home...

From my backlog. HUGE thanks to Jason for letting me try this! Also thanks to sk8viking for sending this to him! Wow, complexity! Gorgeous whipped cream-like head. Nice lacing on the side of the glass. Wonderful balance noted here in both the aroma and flavour. Bits of black pepper, nutmeg, coriander, caramel, candied fruit......it just goes on. Oak and vanilla make a subtle appearance with the calvados jumping in a little later on. Some yeasty notes along with some interesting esters. Slight funk on the back-end of the palate. Slight warming sensation on the way down gave a nice pleasent nature to this. Deep layers of complexity keep going on well after the last sip. Wonderful experience!

Grand reserva 2005. Bottle. Nearly opaque brown with a thin off-white head. Average retention and lacing. Aroma is wood, caramel, toasted malt, dark fruits, vanilla, brown sugar and liquorice. Flavor is figs, dates, raisins, grapes, molasses, brown sugar, dark honey, alcohol, cookies, spices with a long sweet aftertaste. Full body with a slightly visquous mouthfeel. Awesome!

2005 Bottle with big thanks to ygtbsm94 for this great bonus brew! Aroma has notes of dark dried fruits, port, oak, spice, and a subtle earthy yeast. Awesome. Dark amber hue that sits black in the sniffer. Average sized frothy off-white head that diminished and left some lace. Flavor is sweet, earthy and a little tart. Palate is medium bodied and soft. Very nice beer that has aged quite well. Very complex beer that opens up quite nicely as it warms. Wonderful.

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark brown body with a wispy, persistent, off-white head. Smell: Aroma of dark malts and toasted oak wrapped up in a luscious, sweet-smelling raisin/plum syrup. Yes, I read Calvados, but for me it’s very port-like. Taste: Rich sweet maltiness! Flavors of simple syrup, dark caramel, light brown sugar, and a drop or three of molasses. Did I mention it’s sweet? A tiny kick of tartness accompanies the potent, port-like fruitiness and plays nicely alongside the sweetness. Underlying tastes of vanilla and oak. Sweet, fruity finish with a lingering taste of cane sugar. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Mild carbonation. Drinkability: Quite nice! A superb creation. Can I take away PBR’s blue ribbon and give it to this beer?