Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva

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

Bottle. Dark with big, brownish head. Sweet caramel aroma with elements of molasses and dark fruit. Fruity flavour consisting mainly of dark, ripe fruits bu also with a slight hint of peaches. Heavy dosage of caramel, molasses, brown sugar and plain ol’ sweet malt as well. I like it a lot as I like all incarnations of this truly great classic. Thx J & M (and C & U).

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.

2005 bottle. Pours brown with a tan head. Aroma of dates, raisins, honey, brown sugar and some vanilla wood tones. Flavor has some slight oxidation wtih some tartness. Raisins, vanilla, alchohol, wood, apples and a hint of chocolate covered coffee beans. Nice nice beer.

Not as soft as the regular one that I love almost to the point of obsession, the wooden notes kind of override some of the more pleasant ones in this. Still vinous and really good but for the added price this is oddly a downgrade in many ways.

33cl, new exclusive brew Anno 2008, brew Anno 2006, from De Hopduvel Gent, very complex, balanced, hazy, good head, very good brew, top class!

2005 vintage bottle from Systembolaget. When I poured it the aroma spread in the room! At first a malty, sweet and then a bit sour. The beer is dark brown with a nice tan head. A complex beer full of flavour.

Very full, large. Light head, with large particulates. Aroma does not carry a lot of alcohol. Sour fruit is prominent, along with toffee and brown sugar flavours. Very sour and sweet. Alcohol is slight compared to what I expected. First sip is overwhelming, but opens up very nicely.

Pours a dark murky brown in color with a good sized two fingers of tan head. The nose is bready with a little spice, some sweet raisins, and some slightly tart cherry. The taste follows this well with the breadiness mixing with the raisin and dark fruit sweetness up front, a small amount of the slightly tart cherry and apple comes in mid taste and blends well with some spices and a good woody flavor. Mouthfeel is medium in body, decent spiciness mid taste to the finish cuts through the maltiness and leads into a good dryness, a small amount of alcohol warmth at the back of the throat in the finish. Very nice beer, the wood aging has worked well with the flavors.