Struise Pannepøt - Old Monk’s Ale - Pannepeut

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle 2006 sampled 11/16/07. Opens with a lot of CO2. No gushing. The pour is a challenge with all of the CO2. Huge lasting white frothy head. The aroma is huge caramel backed by vinous sherry notes, dark fruits, and barnyard character. A rich lush body that is made more drinkable by the high level of CO2. The flavors are instantly sweet caramelized malt and dark cabernet. The wild yeast characters of the beer make the vinous character come out in full force. The finish is sweet and satisfying with a ever so light dryness once the fluid has left the mouth. A great Belgian dark ale.

Plusieurs saveurs sont actives dans ce brassin. La mélasse, caramel, noisettes et la liste habituelle de fruits comme les dattes, figues et un kick de zest d’agrumes en final. L’enrobage végétale des houblons est assez brillant. Belle personnalité.

Dark cider/brown color; Medium creamy body; Aroma of sweet malt, yeast, rich fruit, licorice, & spice; Flavor of sweet malt, yeast, caramel/syrup, dark fruit (notably plums & figs), raisons, spice, and chocolate; The alcohol is fairly well hidden; Nicely balanced and complex; Overall, a bit sticky - but very tasty brew.

Bottle 33 cl. Pours hazy brown amber with a great creamy tanned head leaving laces. Aroma is very nice; good malty and bready body, add some sweetness, fruityness, caramel and spicy Belgo yeast to that and voila. Flavor is malty, a bit acidy, sourish, spicy, pungent, fruity and bitter. Very nice. Finishes bitter, dry and fruity.

10-02-11 Bouteille 2011: Cuivrée brune très foncée avec reflets rougeatres, légère effervescence et faible collet de mousse beige. Arômes de fruits rouges, de canneberges, de caramel, toffee avec une note acide et de chocolat. Asser sucrée, peut-être unpeu trop, avec une amertume moyenne et une petite note surette. Corps moyen, mais plus léger que ce a quoi je m’attendais. Texture moyennement mince et légèrement huileuse avec une asser forte carbonisation et une finale amer, sur des notes surettes et alcoolisées. Pas très facile a boire.

Part of the Belgian taster set at Davis Beer Shoppe. Probably the best out of the group. Tasted of dark fruits and malty goodness. Very solid beer.

2007 vintage. Pours a dark chestnut brown color with golden orange edges and a half finger light beige head that quickly settles into a lasting ring.  Spotty lacing left behind. Sweet, slightly earthy aroma with some zesty spice, estery yeast, dark fruit and sweet malt.  Peppery with cinnamon and peppermint followed by a slight medicinal/syrupy presence, bread and dark fruit notes. Hints of grape, raisin, fig and alcohol. Medium bodied with a nice balance of zesty spice, earthy hops, dark fruit sweet malt and alcohol.  Hints of pepper, cinnamon, peppermint and clove followed by a strong dark fruit character.  Hints of dark cherry, grape, fig and raisin before a slight boozy finish.  Some alcohol flavor but not much heat.  High abv relatively well masked.  More complex as it warms with a slight syrupy, medicinal quality but still pretty tasty.

Bouteille de 330ml. Millésime 2010. Bière acajou foncée avec une belle mousse brune, les bulles sont grosses et font beaucoup de bruit lors du versage. Le nez est composé d’un mélange de fruits confits et de caramel épicé. La bouche est chaleureuse, ronde, épicée. Tout est en harmonie, l’alcool se fait discret. Un délicieux produit.

33cl bottle. Almost black with a little brownish head. Nose : Caramel and roasted malts. It has a cheesy aromas. Nuts and coffee notes. Overall dairy and vanilla like. Some dried fruits there too. Sip : Medium to high density with almost no carbonation. Striking sweet with a little ester fruits aromas like banana, raisins and cherries. Followed by complex bitterness of gold’n’brown gray toast and some coffee with it. The estery touch makes it closer to a Belgian quadruple beers made by monks in this country so I guess this could be one of the reasons it’s called "Monk’s Ale". Nice one.