Struise Pannepot

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

2006 bottle from Beerworld of Largo, FL. Very dark brown in color, almost black with a medium-large brown head. Complex and somewhat challenging aroma- vinous with dark fruits- raisins, red wine grapes, musty basement- yeasty, a moderate amount of dry chocolate, molasses, spices. Taste is moderately sweet with molasses, figs, raisins, dry baker’s chocolate, spices, and bread (yeast). Well attenuated, with a medium body like other dark belgian strong ales. Only slight alcohol perceived. Finishes lightly fruity, lightly sweet (caramel) and spicy. awesome belgian strong, one of the best I have had.

A good belgium beer. Dark brown, but very sweet flavor. (to sweet for me). Chocolate, coffee with a roasted taste.

2006 bottle courtesy of theisti. Very dark brown, almost black, pour with very big mocha colored head. Nose is dark fruits, dates, deep maltly caramel and some spices. Flavor is wonderful mix of dark pitted fruits, soft wintery spices, toffee and a cinnamon bready sweetness. Very nice beer that makes me wish I were drinking it in some old tavern...but I’ll settle for my leather chair and BCS Championship game. Thanks Tim. Great beer.

Original bottle from wohlfs, ’05 version. Medium to dark brown with huge off-white head, great lacing. Aroma is full of milk chocolate and faint spice. Flavor has tons of chocolate, toffee and decnet amount of spice to prevent from cloying. Very highly drinkable. ’06 bottles I will rerate, I don’t remember them being quite as good.

Pours extremely dark ruby red/brown aroma strong of spices, fruits, malts and soil. Smooth plums and spices come through, along with a Belgium character that demands respect. Excellent beer, I want more, Thanks our Belgium friends!!!

pours a deep brown color with a thick beige head that dissipates slowly. Sticky rings of lacing. Dark fruit, bready malt and sweet spice aromas intermingle nicely. Medium body with a refreshing complexity about it. Flavors of raisins, roasted malt, chocolate and spices are all present. The finish is fruity with a lingering spice and malt aftertaste.

2006 bottle on New Year’s Day 2008, served on the warm side of cellar temperature.

I’ve been hoarding this bottle for a while, ever since discovering how marvelous the mere Pannepøt is. Tonight is the right time to open it up. The beer pours thick black with a huge frothy tan head.

The aroma is complex but not overpoweringly rich: the basic tones are quad-like dried plums and raisins, mild spices, damp earth, a subtle overlay of unsweetened chocolate. I close my eyes and breath in the more subtle tones, and I’m following the smell of an active kitchen far-off down the end of a slightly damp stone tunnel underneath the old city.

Enough dreaming. I open my eyes, remove my nose from the tulip, and take a si....Oh--my--goodness. An unparalleled explosion of flavor. Dark raisin liquor and rich spices carom off my taste buds and splash across my mouth. Sweet oatmeal-raisin cookies rush to the front, laden with cinnamon, and savory bread dipped in oil and vinaigrette. Blackberry juice sloshes against the gentlest of smoked peats. A subtle hint of fresh mint leaves slithers between the strong dark sugars. The beer is incredibly thick on the tongue but never unpleasantly so, the flavor bursting out in all directions from that rich liquid, creamy in its mouthfeel, hot only in the slightest on the back of the throat if I savor the sip too long in my mouth.

Absolutely fabulous beer. I believe I just gave it a 4.6, which makes it my #3 beer. Such rank is well deserved.

2006 Bottle March ’08: a gusher. Interesting.

2006 Bottle April ’08: Another gusher, maybe a bit more mild this time. Doesn’t hurt the flavor one bit. Absolutely divine.

330 ml. bottle. Dark brown color, turbid and opaque with a moderate tan head. Dark fruits and spices in the aroma, raisin, ripe fig, nutmeg and allspice, like rum soaked spice cake, floral, herbal and dark berry notes add an interesting complexity, along with a bit of smoke. Flavor is wow, complex, with lots of dark fruits, rich yeasts, coffee and molasses, a bit of tart blackberry, warming alcohol and spices. Smooth, full body and soft, gentle carbonation.