Struise Pannepøt

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

12 oz. bottle. 2006 vintage. Pours a dark leather with almost no trace of head. Aroma of maple syrup, nutmeg, warming alcohol. Flavor is sweet, some caramel, carrots, and alcohol. Finish is malty with a hint of licorice.

Pours deep brown into a tulip. Tan micro head leaves spot lacing as it slowly recedes to skim surface. Apricot and pear aromas. Sticky sweet figs, pear and pit fruit from front to back with a malty, slightly alcoholic burn in the finish. Definitely a sipper.

Clear deep amber in colour, small but lingering tan coloured head, light lacing. The aroma is quite rich, lots of candied sugar, fruit cake with only some light alcohol. The flavour is quite sweet, lots of fruit - cherries mainly - some malt, chocolate, smooth and rich. Creamy mouthfeel, medium body, mild carbonation. Finishes long, smooth and creamy. Incredible beer, quite warming. No noticeable alcohol. Quite complex, excellent balance.

330ml bottle from the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/new-york target=blank>Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York for $5.99.
Purchased on August 20, 2007 and opened on November 2, 2007.
Vintage 2006.

11.2oz bottle. Pours reddish brown with significant red hues when held up against the light. The head and visible carbonation on this one are drastically less than what I’ve experienced in all my bottles of the regular version. Head retention is also much less in this one, the off white head quickly diminishing to some foamy swirls right on top of the liquid. Aroma is quite nice and similar to its brother - raisins and other dark fruits, candy, sugar, vanilla, the idiosyncratic blue cheese, a tiny dab of chocolate. Wonderfully complex smell. Soft mouthfeel reveals flavors of sweet fruits and that same sugared coffee aftertaste of Pannepot. It’s hard not to keep comparing this to the other version but what do you expect. Besides the appearance I cannot distinguish this much from my memory of the original, though I’m sure a side by side comparison would reveal a lot more. Still this is world class.

2006 From Green’s in Atlanta Pours a dull brown with a fleeting off-white head. Cold, the aroma is caramel-raisin. As it warms, some alcohol appears . Very smooth bodied, that leaves a velvety coating on the tongue. Caramel. spice, anise flavors come through . Hops are way in the back in this one. Strong, malty.

Bottle purchased at Liquor Max in Loveland, CO. Pours hazy brown with a small, rocky, off-white head, diminishing with spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, caramel), average hops (flowers, grass), average yeast (barnyard, earth) with notes of light alcohol, pear, wood, and coriander. Full bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

2006 Bottles from Sliffy and GenoG. Thanks! Pours a healthy dark brown with a perfectly formed off white head that shows no sign of fading. Nose is nutty and sweet, dates, figs, a little bit of hops, and some spices. Very sweet smelling. Strange flavor. Creamy mouthfeel with a flavor of dark fruits, chocolate, vanilla, a bit of alcohol.

Pours a slightly hazy brown with a thin white head. Aroma is of dark fruit, yeast and slight spice. Taste is complex, with alcohol well hidden. Dark fruit, yeast and earthy/wood flavors, slight citrus sourness on the finish. Definitely a different beer from the other version.