Struise Pannepot

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

2007 vintage. AMAZING beer. The pour is dark murky brown, almost black. Aroma is sweet dark fruits with plum, prune, raisin and yeasty aromas. Love the sweet, so sweet and fruity with dark roastiness. The flavour is ridiculous. Sweet raisin and plum with dark earthy esters. Low alcohol taste on the finish with a lingering sweetness. Moderate lacing (this is a vintage bottle though). Mouthfeel makes the beer. Such a light mouthfeel with mild carbonation and a sweet prickly awesomeness.

UPDATED: APR 29, 2011 2010 bottle at Het Oude Schooltje, thanks to Carlo. It pours very dark brown with almost no head. The nose is full of dark fruit (date, plum and raisin), liquorice, varnish, caramel, clove and has a medicinal quality. The taste is caramel, plum, fig, currant, prune, coffee, liquorice, crème brûlée, clove, cinnamon, caramelised bananas, dark sour cherry, menthol and has a long lingering alcohol warmth. It’s very complex, packed full of flavour and still remains very drinkable. Tastes just like Christmas pudding, awesome!

Poured into a goblet. 2007 vintage. 4.5 A: Super dark brown color, pretty much black. Two fingers of tan creamy head with good retention and lots of lacing around the entire glass. 5.0 S: Wow does this smell good! At first I was impressed with how fruity it is, but soon after layers of complexity (all good) started coming through. TONS of fruity plum with fig and some black cherry as well. Underneath, there is a sweet milk chocolate with even sweeter dark crystal malts and the slightest touch of roastiness. Alcohol is minimal at most and complements rather than interfering. 4.0 T: Very surprising. The taste isn’t much like the nose at all. The fruitiness comes in the form of prunes instead of plum (similar, I know, but different enough). Lots of tobacco and raisin this time. Not really any chocolate, but the roasted character is stronger. The downfall of the taste is the alcohol. While it was barely in the nose, it’s probably the strongest component in the taste. 3.5 M: Lighter medium body. Good heavy carbonation that is very spritzy. Not so smooth though due to lingering sweetness and alcoholic tinge on finish. 3.5 D: Excellent smelling with a good taste, but the aftertaste doesn’t do it for me. At $6, it was well worth it because the nose was phenomenal. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 04-21-2010 01:16:31

Purchased 2007 vintage from Sherbrooke Liquor in Edmonton. Poured a dark hazy brown with a huge tan head. Head was enlarged due to an amateur poor by myself - came in over two fingers. The beer was darker than I anticipated but is very appealing. Head retention was surprisingly short and virtually no lacing occurred. The aroma is incredibly complex. There are dark fruits immediately present with cherries most noticeable and plums and raisins in the background. It took numerous sniffs to identify but the other prominent aroma I can detect is brown sugar. The aroma has numerous other treasures to discover but my nose was not feeling up to the task on this day. The taste mimics the aroma and includes a lot of dark fruit, some brown sugar, and a bit of a bready taste. I also taste roasted malts and some chocolate that were not foreshadowed by the aroma. The finish almost has a faint coffee taste and betrays the presence of the 10% ABV. The mouthfeel is not incredibly smooth or harsh - occupying that middle ground. Carbonation is moderate as well.

Bottiglia del 2007. Aspetto fantastico, colore marrone scuro con schiuma cremosa. Aroma sublime, complesso tra cioccolato, frutta e resine. In bocca meravigliosa BSA, equilibrata tra malto luppolo e alcol. Gran bere, gran bere.

UPDATED: DEC 31, 2011 Sampled the 2009 vintage. Such a good brew. Ridiculously smooth and malty. Really enjoyed the flavoring that is included in this brew. Definitely great when it has been aged. Be careful when opening. Lost half the bottle when we opened it. Didnt even have a chance of saving it as it shot right out.

Bottle. Very dark brown, average and mostly diminishing light brown head. Moderate malty and sweet aroma, very fruity – dark berries/raisins/plums, light roastiness and licorice together with light alcohol. Body is average to full, malty and sweet flavor, very fruity, light acidity together with licorice and roastiness. Finish is average, malty and sweetish, fruity with light acidity, light alcohol. Far too sweet for my taste, not so super-sweet what I expected.

Wow. Bottle sample. Pours a very dark brown more to black, with a nice beige head that fades away to nothing. No lace. The aroma from this delectable beauty is of sweet dark fruits, particularly dates, plum and raisin. Taste is of raisin, bread and the complexity goes on. Needless to say I really enjoyed this brew.