Struise Pannepot Reserva

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

Darker brown color with a gentle beige head. Aroma has a wonderful mix of dark fruit, gentle oak and vanilla, light spice, and a nice brown sugar mix that all goes into the nostrils like an angel. Flavor is a smooth and hearty mix of brown sugar, vinous fruits, tangy spices, and a good amount of oak. Mouthfeel is superb and seems to last forever. Wow - I’ve been a pannepot fan for awhile, but always felt that the spices and sugar were a tad disjointed. This pulls it all together and becomes my favorite Belgian beer of all time, and one of the best brews ever - hands down.

(Bottle) Pours dark brown with red lines. Fruity and spicy aroma with cherries, cinnamon, ginger, clove, anise, light wood, sugary pears, banana, dried fruits and red apples. Nice buttery, light caramelly malt profile. Some other red beeries are also present. Gentle marzipan tones. Some hints of roses. Vinous, cherry-ish flavour with a lot of fruits like banana and others. Anise and other spices are also present. Undertones of soil, raspberries and other berries. Buttery, malty and rather silky/smooth mouthfeel. The oak tones in rather discrete in the flavour as well. Medium to full body. Extremely complex, more complex than fantastic.

Sampled at Springslicker’s Fish Fry ’09. 2005 vintage. Clearish brown pour with big tan head and good lacing. Stellar aroma. Sweet, big and malty. Just the smallest noticeable twinge of alcohol. This was absolutely delicious. I would love to get my hands on another sample.

Tasted at 2008 Woodshop hosted by cquiroga. Bottle from ygtbsm94. Thanks Brad! Strong carbonation, which dulls the flavors a little. Less sweet than the Grand Reserva. Tried side by side with the Pannepot, Panneput, and Pannepot Reserva. I like the Grand the best, but they are extremely similar, so the ratings are the same.

75cl bottle from Five Points Bottle Shop (Athens, GA). Pours a dark brown to black with one finger white-tan head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of yeast, wheat, candy sugar, brown sugar, ripe dark fruits, run-soaked raisins, some hints of chocolate and caramel. Flavor is sweet and malty with similar notes of brown sugar, ripe dark fruit, candy sugar, molasses, rummy-raisins, and carmel. Generally medium to full body with a pleasing malty finish.

Bottled at 1st Borefts Beer festival, Bodegraven. Another great beer, you just can’t go wrong at this festival. Very sweet malty beer, very complex yet smooth. Nevertheless a liked the Grand Reserva even better. But all Pannepots are simply brilliant.

(on bottle)Deep, chestnutbrown/red, beige head. Caramelsweet, with some chocolate and a ton of maltinfluence. A very short carbonation and a very sweet, prunish taste. Not that balanced, very dominating dark fruits in finish, witch has a lack of carbonation, hence gets pretty watery. Exected a whole lot more from this baby.

(2006 vintage tasted on 2008-03-23) Deep dark brown. Sweet malty nose with some chocolate and salty liquorice. Taste has some roasted malts, caramell, sweet sugar, chocolate, salty liquorice and fruitiness. Some spices. Fine beer.