Struise Pannepot

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

33 cl bottle. Pours a very dark brown with a small off-white head. I have a sniff and smell mostly chocolate. As I have a few sips the aroma turns out to be much broader - there’s vanilla, raisin, dried fruit, some booziness, and walnut. Very nice palate, not too oily and a soft carbonation. I had expected something different, but I’m certainly not complaining. Great beer!

UPDATED: NOV 24, 2010 0.33l Bottle. Pours a dark molasses. Aroma is rich and complex with predominantly dried fruit and caramel. Taste is a good balance of malts with very prevalent raisin and caramel flavors - I would call it almost rummy. But, this is balanced with a nice subtle hop flavor as the base. The other stand out of this beer is the soft and smooth carbonation. It provides the flavor of the beer with a soft pillow.

Dark and murky with a fluffy head. Gorgeous sweet nose. Good bubblesbut a bit on the sweet side. Very grapey. and overly spiced.

Bought at Drankenhandel Geers. Complex, nearly black strong ale with a solid brown head. Very potent brew, less sweet that I would have expected. Great combination of malts and slight bitterness of the hops, all very well balanced. I’m not surprised to see that the list of ingredients confirms its complexity, even if it’s deceptively easy to drink for a 10% ABV brew...

2006 - 11.2 oz bottle from the cellar. Damn, did I really pay $5.99 for this bottle? Nose is big, sweet fruits with raisins and dates dominating. Pours a dense black with a fine head dissipating quickly. It was five minutes after popping the top before I poured it, but it was slowly effervescing and dribbling foam and beer out the top of the bottle. As soon as I poured it, the carbonation quickly finished, though. There is a quick bitterness in the taste of this one that nicely balances the ripe fruits promised in the nose. Palate, for me, is the strongest suite for this one. There is a creamy texture just slightly buzzed by the light carbonation. The bitterness rides lightly on the delicate carbonation and the sweetness helps make this one just smooth enough. Finish is just dry enough. I’m liking this bottle a lot more than I remember liking the first bottle that I drank the evening I came home from the store with the pair. I remember the first bottle being a disappointment, but this one is is just fine. I guess it needed a few years to grow up.

11.2 oz vintage 2006 bottle sent from Dany / Glouglouburp, pours dark brown with a medium beige / tan head. Very complex aroma of black currants, raisins, plum, molasses and caramel. Dark roasty malt flavour upfront, with the complex dried fruits coming in immediately after, also with burnt caramel and molasses. Wonderful.

One of the best balanced beers I know. Raisiny aroma, some caramel, some alcohol. Very complex and herbal taste. Wonderfully creamy and nutty. Very delicate mouthfeel suited by soft carbonation. Very good balance between the malts and the hops. It’s a beer without mistakes, which almost leads you to think that it’s somehow not ’special’. But it is.

UPDATED: JUN 2, 2011 Bottle. Very dark brown with a little head that’s off-white. Aroma is soft alcohol, dried fruits and caramelized malts. Taste has something creamy, like butterscotch. Also caramel hints. It’s very soft and easy on the tongue; delicate finish as well, where some sipcyness emerges. Excellent finish and palate, but somehow still expected a tad more. (old rating; 747517) New rating. The more I drink it the more I like it.