Struise Pannepot Reserva

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

From a 750mL Bottle. Generously shared by CaptainCougar, courtesy of boboski. Pours a somewhat transparent, deep dark brown color with a tall layer of fizzy head that fizzles out flat a bit quickly. The aroma has a distinct oaky dryness that boldly lurks over the rich backbone of molasses and gingerbread cookie malt characters. A lot of really lovely things going on, but most of them I can attribute to the wonderful beer existing in the pre-oak stage. There’s still some of that lightly toasted fennel seed, fig spice, and tobacco leaf notes tantalizing the senses, but the big vanilla oakiness is overwhelming some of the more subtle nuances a bit too much. Medium bodied, sparkling mouthfeel with a crisp effervescence. Lightly sweet, smokey caramel-toffee melanoidins start out the flavors, followed by a wave of oak and vanilla. Toasted brown sugar and flambeed pecans. Unfortunately, I’m enjoying the pre-oak flavors more than the oak, although that isn’t to say the oak is unpleasant - the original is just too damn amazing and complex to have such a bold dimension added to the mix. But realistically, how could this have been a disappointment at all from such a high starting point? Another fantastic beer from an amazing brewer. Thanks for sharing, Tom!

750 ML bottle at the Delerium Cafe. Pour is a browish/mahogany with a minimal off white head. Aroma of oak, nutty, earth and subtle fruit. Flavor is wood, tartness and candy sugar...very nice. Nice palate, very smooth. I hope this makes it to my area sometime soon.

750 ml bottle - Columbus X tasting

Thanks to whomever brought this - I believe it was moejuck. Knowing this was a Top 50 beer I was eager to give it a try despite being letdown just a bit by regular Pannepot. It was still a fantastic beer; it just does not knock my socks off enough to deserve Top 50 status (perhaps Top 100 is more accurate). This one is about the same. I would gladly drink it again for being an excellently made beer but in a pinch would take the regular release instead.

Aroma / Appearance - Oak, toffee, chocolate and plum form a cohesive set of scents. A woody backbone holds it all together. If I close my eyes I almost can imagine turkey and dressing - perhaps this would be a good beer to open at Thanksgiving if it were more readily accessible. The deep brown body was the color of liquid toffee. Gooey lacing stuck to the sides of my glass along with an ashen lacing.

Flavor / Palate - The first sip was mostly vinous with hints of toffee and chocolate pudding along for the ride. For such a complex beer it was very easy going and light on the palate. I found it just a hair more boring than regular Pannepot which is to say that given the ability I would rate it about .05 points lower. The only real proof that this has some punch comes towards the end when the alcoholic presence kicks in. Overall another well made beer from Struisse that I hope to see on the shelves in the US some time.

C-bus 10. Bourbon, Belgian yeast, and some sweet caramel in the aroma. Deep brown body with a medium head. Full palate with slightly above average carbonation. Effervescence strikes me when I first sip and then the belgian yeast flavor comes on heavy. Caramel malts and belgian spices make up the second wave of flavors--with very faint hints of oak in the finish. Very good, but I prefer the regular version.

Bottle shared at Columbus Tasting 10 by the very generous moejuck. THANK YOU JOE for my 400th rating!! This was an excellent choice and an awesome beer! Very malty and earthy tasting. Wood. Vanilla. Brown sugar. All perfectly blended. YUM!

C-Bus 10: Bottle shared by moejuck: Pours a nice mahogany, with a light tan head. Aroma, woody, some fruits, vanilla, caramel, sweet. Flavor, fruits, some floral notes, malty and sweet with some nice oaky vanilla tones. Very nice brew.

Bottle shared by Egajdzis. Pours about the same as the other Pannepots- deep woody amberish brown with a foamy cobwebby head and nice lace. Aroma is mostly fruityesters- raisin and plum with licorice hints, some nuts, almond-like, toasty and caramel malts with hints of vanilla. Some phenols as well as more esters develop as it warms- fruity and hints of vanilla phenol and earthy almost plasticy as well- sweetness is a bit more subdued from the barrel and isnt as sharp as the regular- good amount of oak and vanilla but not overdone so it isnt woody or too earthy. Some carmel and molasses sweetness throughout with a smooth light finish- some alcohol hints as it warms. Nice overall, but It wasnt mind blowing.

Bottle thanks to boboski: Dark mahogany amber with a frothy, nicely-lacing dark tan head. Aroma of sweet dark candi sugar and fruity esters with a nice mild oaky complexity and a hint of doughy yeast. Body starts with a nice earthy dark caramelk sweetness balanced with drier oak and lightly spiced with a hint of tartness and alcoholic warmth toward a doughy finish. Effervescent palate makes this seem not as sweet as the regular version.