Struise Pannepot Reserva

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

Another Gem from the Wayne Gretsky of new Belgian breweries. Sweet, big, fruity, thick! chewy, I only wished I had two livers so I could have drank twice as much of this in Belgium. These guys are not only excllent brewers, but really fun guys to hang with. I can’t wait to get my hands/mouth on more of this sweet nectar - gods willing.

Top fermented, unfiltered, unpasteurized, bottle refermented. 10 vol% strong. Uncorking the plastic cork (a good thing - who needs cork taste in his beer anyway) gave a nice plop-sound. Carbonation was just perfect. Immediately some flowery-estery aromas filled the room and lucky my nose too. This is a good sign already! Pouring gave a dark to black, quite dense liquid, producing some fine creamy beige colored foam. A head that evolved into some 1cm. thick creamy layer. Perfect foam retention. Smelling revealed alot of spices. I notice flowery-estery perfumes too. Roasty malts, perfect hoppiness and some winy touches. The "winy" resemblances with Oerbier Réserva were remarkable. Smelling was a treat already, but tasting , well this brings you straight into beer heaven ! What an amazing texture. Dense, full-body as it should be. The creaminess is astounding. First thing I noticed was that this beer is less sweet than the regular Pannepot. Oak ageing has clearly diminished some sugars here. I’ve tasted vanilla, cinnamon, liquorice, roasty malts, tannins (oak barrels), candi sugar, other spices (nutmeg?), fruity-flowery esters (makes it refreshing at the same time), warming alkohol. Very nice about this beer is the creamy texture. Really exceptional and a wonderful treat for the taster in question. Now, it’s only waiting to taste the Pannepot Grand Réserva which underwent an additional 8 months of Calvados barrel ageing. Makes it a total of 22 months of barrel ageing. Amazing at least !!!!

rbesg07, bottled. rich shade of brown with a steady off-white head. aroma of stewed stonefruit and pawpaw, sweet but in a rich and invigorating way - rum, caramel, cinnamon, prune juice. classy stuff

Dark brown with medium beige head. Vinious aroma with toffee, spices, overripe fruits and malt. Full body, sweet, overripe fruits and a warm finish from alcohol. Huge complexity. Not much room for improvement. Excellent!

Poured a hazy brown color with a medium sized, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of vanilla, caramel malts, oak, nuts, dried fruits, and some cherry. Taste of more caramel, light spices, vinous, with more cherry, vanilla, and light alcohol in the finish. The age in the barrel has really helped to subdue the intense spicing in regular Pannepot.

[Bottle from ChristianScheffel, Odense Tasting.]
This is golden brew. Great look of dark brown pour with good off-white head with notes of oude, oak, vanilla, dried fruits, "old" yeast, spices such as nutmeg, complexity and indeed a world class brew.

Loud Pop! Expectations were high. Dark brown with a red hew & solid head. This is candy for grown ups. Malty, raisin & prune, spicy, nutmeg, alcohol, oak & a slight metallic edge. Full bodied. Soft palate. Very complex. Almost as good as the "regular" pannepot. Long end...

Some years ago Struise was rather unknown in Belgium. Within the last couple of years they have grown to be one of the best and the most innovative Belgian brewery. This beer shows why!
Hazy dark brown with a tall beige head that last. Powerful aroma of sweet malt, barrel, spices. Very complex and extremely inviting. Flavor is sweet with a lovely dryness from the barrel aging. Soft and smooth, with millions of subflavors. No doubt a world class brew, I can’t wait to taste the Grand Reserva!