Pannepot Special Reserve
De Struise Brouwers

750ml bottle at share. Dark brown pour with small beige foamy head. Fruity aroma, dark pit fruit, oak, wine notes. Taste is sweet, mildly funky, plums, prunes, wine barrel, red grapes.Likely past it's prime, but still good.

Pushing the darker and stronger ale of Belgium further and further to the vinous side of taste, Struise ages their famed Pannepot quadruple ale in port barrels for a whopping three years.

That extended age allows Pannepot Special Reserve to pour a deeper and darker burgundy hue with basically no foam to mention. As the still beer drifts across the nose, the bold scent of toasted grain, dark fruit, fortified wine and alcohol spice fill the nose. Its malt dominant taste begins with brown sugar, light molasses, caramel and honey.

But then the fruits come out the play as the ale skirts across the middle palate. Plum, date, fig, red grape, raisin and prune all weave into a concentrated sweet wine taste. Not to be outdone, the vinous spices mingle with yeast spices for a holiday taste of mulled wine. A drying sensation of oak tannins are expected as the extended aging add an additional wood spice as the brandy-like alcohol grows.

Full bodied, still on the palate an finishing malty-dry and with a warm aftertaste and texture, this special version of Pannepot is a fun experiment that over does the aging just to see what happens.

 

 

 

 

 

A 750ml bottle, 2011 vintage, cask strength limited edition, bottled on 15th November 2016. Poured into a De Struise tulip glass.

Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a very thin beige head that disappeared almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.

Aroma: Dark fruit, plum, prune, raisin, dates, port, oak, strawberry, chocolate.

Taste: Light sweetness, dark fruit, plum, prune, raisin, port, mixed berries, slight booze, with notes of caramel and chocolate on the backend.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall: It’s not the first time that De Struise has mentioned ‘medium carbonation’ when in actuality it is either soft or really close to no carbonation. In this case, while I would prefer more carbonation, the soft carbonation is not so bad. It’s a good sipper with lots of good port notes.

 

Bottle from The Situation, served at home in a snifter glass. Brwon reddish colour, medium off white head with short retention, no lacing. Aroma is winey,chocolate, dates, raisins, strawberries, some nuts. Medium to full body, sticky texture, flat carbonation. Sour finish. Taste of wine, chocolate, cinnamon, muscatel, raisins. Very good.

2018 bottle served ~55deg.

 

2018 bottle poured from fridge temp. Pours a nice dark brown with quickly disappearing head. Nose is grapes, Belgian yeast, toffee. Taste is really fantastic. A bit of a damp dank taste - raisins, leather, damp wood, spruce, bread, red wine, oak. Mouthfeel is robust and lingering. Overall an awesome quad.

Black with head that dies down totally. Barreling do that?

Very raisin.

As described: subtly stout. Better cold than warm. Raisin is prominent without being too wine-y. Not sour, not tart but very fruity, specifically berry rather than phenolic. Few critiques.

Carbonation is very low, to a detriment, IMO.

 

Poured into Chimay chalice

Dark brown with red and purple hues. Even a couple of last drops were purple. Minimal white head dissipates quickly.

Aromas of sweet candied dark forest fruits like blueberries and raspberries, and strong oak character.

Taste is a bit of a surprise, as it's first sour and and then sweet. Lots of those forest fruits. It's like a cabernet franc or malbec.

Feels like a carbonated wine, with that sourness cleaning the palate and bringing those fruity notes. Oak barrel is really present too.

I really liked it, although I was not expecting that profile.

 

Poured into my Le Chouffe Tulip
A - Pours a deep Cola colour with Beige head that reduces slowly
S - Dark fruits, brown sugars, White vinegar Plenty going on here
T - Cinnamon, cardamom, with a nice red wine character mid palate. The finish is spicy but balanced.
M - Medium to full body with medium to full carbonation
O - An absolute cracker of a beer. If you like big bold character then this is your beer

 

Yay, been looking forward to this for soooo long! Pannepot Special Reserva: A version of Struise Brouwers Old Fisherman’s Spiced Ale, barrel-aged for 4 years in a Bordeaux oak barrel from France. Funny they aged this in wine barrels from France because this is the beer equivalent of a very fine aged wine. In fact it reminds me of that Black Books episode where they try to recreate a bottle of wine reserved for the Pope by using a cheap bottle of red, vanilla essence and an oak twig (probably my favourite episode of Black Books) #goodtimes So what exactly can one expect from this 10% ABV beauty? Something smooth, yet spicy, with a long oak finish? Your guess is as good as mine (if that was your guess, otherwise hard luck old spice).

Poured from a 330ml bottle into an Orval chalice.

A: Dark brown with a burgundy-red tinge, quite an active mocha-coloured head that fizzles down as fast as it came leaving a faint ring of lace. Looks like a Belgian Dark Strong Ale (as opposed to the Quadrupel it’s listed as on BA), reminds me of Gulden Draak, which is not golden despite the name. 8/10.

S: Very much like the original Pannepot Old Fisherman's Ale (cardamom, cinnamon, mace, dark fruits, brown sugar and yep: Vegemite/Marmite) with a solid red grape must vinous note from the barrel. Here’s hoping that Vegemite/Marmite character from original Pannepot has settled down a little, although I know if I had it today – 4 years after my original Pannepot review – I would have rated it higher than a respectable, yet slightly paltry: 8.05/10. 9/10.

T: As expected “It’s a party in my mouth, and everyone's invited!” (God bless you Ken Griffey Jr.), with a flavour profile so explosive I’m surprised a glass bottle could contain it: cardamom, cinnamon, mace, dark fruits, brown sugar, VegeMarmite™, yes yes, some mid-palate oak wood tones, touch of vanilla, red grape must, yeast? Did I mention yeast? VegeMarmite™ is a yeast paste so that counts, and a dry spicy finish. Next to no alco-burn. This is a true sipper right here. 9/10.

M: Mid to heavy bodied, the minimal carbonation comes across as a bit prickly for some reason, detracts a touch from this otherwise world-class brew. 7/10.

D: It’s hard to go past this Pannepot Special Reserva, some of the edges I found too rough with original Pannepot have mellowed over time, along with that chaotic nature, and the barrel has given this brew a subtle face-lift, enough to leave a refined sipper that has a slight wild side – top stuff Struise! 9/10.

Food match: Gotta be some fine French ‘haute cuisine’ for this puppy… puppies too.