Struise Pannepot Reserva

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

Rating #700. Bottle shared like a baller by ajm -- big ups for securing this through a trade. Pours prune with a beige head. Smells gloriously of raisins from across the room. Upon closer inspection wood, vanilla, and tart fruit are also apparent in the aroma. All of these flavors along with plum and brown sugar are concentrated in a Normandy-like assault at the front of the palate, followed by tannins on the mid, and oats landing on the shore after the battle. Well done.

Bottle, 2007. Very dark brown with a beige head. Sweet, leathery aroma with pear drops. Taste is richly malty and immensely sweet, like crystallised dates. A curious backtaste of baked apple served with custard and golden syrup. Some late dryness. Near perfection, but I must say I began to find the sweetness a little cloying towards the end.

There’s really nothing more to say that someone might just call this the "special edition" of the best beer in the world. I never thought I would try this one, until Urbain came walking in with half a crate! I will be forever grateful that I had the opportunity to try this gem!

A careful pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three finger thick, lightly amber tinged, tan colored head that forms a fluffy, textured surface and leaves lots of lace on the sides of the glass as it slowly subsides. The aroma smells of tart raisins, prunes and figs that lie on top of a dense, toasted grain, molasses spice cake note. Hints of spicy and toasted oak character lightly scent the beer, but play a subdued role in the nose. There are also red wine like notes (rich, tannic berry notes) and a concentrated tamarind note. Once you dig around and explore enough here you notice a funky, musty mushroom note that becomes noticeable in the finish; it reminds me a bit of a musky blankey that has is scented with dried sweat. Other aromatic notes of light chocolate, earthy coriander, cherry pits, and quite a fully malty note are noticeable here as well; this last contributes a dark toasted, though not roasted, deeply caramelized, and brown malt character. The concentrated fruit and malt in the nose take on a sort of smoky quality at times. The nose on this beer is incredibly complex, it is very intriguing and worth exploring in detail.

The beer is full bodied as it first hits my tongue, but has a prickly effervescent carbonation that struggles free of the viscous heft. The beer tastes lightly sweet, but is still significantly savory. The beer has a sort of has a dark honey flavor to it, but without that cloying sweetness that honey has. Notes of molasses, tart-concentrated fruit (prune and fig as well as a touch of raisin that seems to get a bit bigger as the beer warms) and some dark cocoa notes in the finish start to come out after a couple sips. This is quite rich and satiating, but not overly sweet; in fact the tart and sweet notes are in such a good balance that neither is overtly noticeable. The malt character is concentrated and brooding with lots of Maillard browning flavors, a molasses character, some notes of dark caramel, savory complex sugars, plus some toasted / caramelized dark bread crust flavors. There is a nice spiciness here that, again, is not a note that is overtly noticeable; it provides a touch of clove flavor, earthy coriander notes, an oaky spiciness (this is the most noticeable spice note, but still is fairly subtle), a touch of ginger, a peppery piquancy in the finish, a richly integrated anise note (though more like one that has been cooked for a long time), a definite note of mahleb (if you consider this a spice), mellow vanilla, hints of mace and a wisp of cardamom.

This is possibly the most balanced strong beer I have ever had; this shows a finesse that is rarely achieved, it has a melding of sweet & tart, malt / fruit & spice, oak & base beer as well as earthy & bright notes. Definitely a tour de force, it takes what can be a phenomenal base beer and adds a couple more layers, as well as a melding process that integrates everything together as a whole. I like that this has lost the sweetness of the base beer (though even the 2006 Pannepot I had last night was not aggressively sweet).

2006 bottle. It tastes overly sour and basicaly like an amateurish microbrewery’s first attempt with using brett. All things considered, it is very smooth for 10% alcohol. But this is not a great beer. I can’t even imagine how this could be considered great by anyone. It’s very ok, like it was made by Sam Adams, maybe. I don’t get it.

’05 Bottle...can’t remember who came through with this for me, but thanks. Pour was a dark brown with a tan head. The nose on this is something to behold, notes of dark plums, cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, oak and dry cocoa powder. Nice carbonation...flavors were spiced malts, dark fruits and oak. Great beer.

750ml of the 2005 vintage. Pours dark brown with a tan head. Lots of carbonation in the pour. Aroma is of malt, yeast, sugar, dark fruit, oak, and alcohol. Has an amazingly inviting aroma. Taste is of dark fruit, particularly plum. Lots of yeast, alcohol, caramel malt, and sugar. Has lots of undertones of smokey oak and tobacco. Lingering sugary plum flavors. Creamy, heavily carbonated mouthfeel. The alcohol is well subdued, but provides a nice warming effect. Really damn good.

Bottle, cheers Mes. Dark brown with a beige head. Awesome aroma of liquor. Taste is fantastic, a joy to drink. A lot to take in when drinking this, very complex and thinking about it made my head hurt. So I just enjoyed it. Chocolate, dark fruits, mellow hint of something licorice like. Beautiful.