RSS

Category Archives: De Struise

Review of Pannepot Reserva (2009)

Hello guys. For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying a 2009 Pannepot Reserva, which is produced by De Struise Brouwers located in Oostvleteren, Belgium.

I’ve heard nothing but great things about this beer and I can’t wait to try it. The website, struise.noordhoek.com, was all weird, so I’m just going to pop over to ratebeer.com and see what kind of commercial description I can find if that’s all right with you guys?

The Pannepot Reserva was an idea from my brew collegue Carlo who wanted to age Pannepot in genuine French oak barrels (barrique 225 liters). We have brewed 90HL at the end of 2005 which has been aging on oak ever since (14 months). 30 Hl was bottled Tuesday 8th May 2007. 60Hl has been transferred now to second hand calvados oak vessels and will be bottled again early autumn 2007, we will name that batch Pannepot Grand Reserva. As quality and results rule at Struise, the Reserva was already brewed again and aging on oak.

Nice!!! Let’s drink this thing. What do ya say?

This brew came in an 11.2 oz. bottle and it had an ABV of 10.0%.

It poured a deep burgundy to brown color with some deep ruby hues. The cap was khaki colored, smooth and semi-creamy. It was sized very well and the retention time was very good. The lacing looked nice and clingy. A very attractive looking beer to say the least.

The aroma was filled with rich and juicy dark fruits. Some grape, fig and prune intermingled with a ton of Belgian yeast. Tones spicy clove along with touches of chocolate and caramel sugar. Hints of oak and wood stepped up at the back end to create a very complex, but well balanced and gorgeous bouquet.

The taste mirrored the fragrance altogether. Robust dark fruits with well appointed and near perfectly blended oak. The clove was matched extremely well and the chocolate and caramel added the most subtle and welcomed sweetness. No discernible alcohol to speak of either. Just a fabulously balanced and great tasting beer.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied. Smooth, creamy, slick, chewy and dry. It slid right down. The carbonation was excellent for a beer that had about 4 years of age on it. A suburb amount of flavor was left behind on the palate after each sip too.

Man… what a great beer!!!. This brew deserves to be ranked right up there with the best Quads in the world. Yes, I’m even saying that it’s in the same class as the Westy XII, St. Bernardus Abt. 12 and the Rochefort 10. I would definitely recommend that you guys give the Pannepot Reserva a try if you can find a bottle. I’m not sure how easily it is to get across the country, but when I saw it I had to grab it. I’m so glad I did too. It was definitely worth the somewhat expensive price tag. If you’ve ever had this beverage please leave a comment. I’d love to hear your interpretation.

Thanks for reading guys. I really appreciate it.

Until next time. Cheers.

Score: 4.7 out of 5

Grade: A+

Review of De Struise Svea IPA

15 Sep

Hi guys. For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying the Svea IPA produced by De Struise Brouwers located in Oostvleteren, Belgium.

This will be my first beer from De Struise, so I don’t really know what to expect. Only one way to find out I guess.

I couldn’t find a brewery website, so like always, I will revert to ratebeer.com and see what they have to say.

We send you our approach for the Svea IPA. As your growing thirst is leaning towards more bitter levels, we have carefully selected a set of noble hops, for you to enjoy on every suitable occasion.

Let’s try it.

This brew has an ABV of 7.0% and it comes in an 11.2 oz. bottle.

It poured a mostly medium shade of amber with just a slight reddish tint to it. The crown was an off white to light tan color. It was sized well and the retention time was good. The texture was a touch fizzy and soapy however. The lacing looked decent too as it left some cobwebs down the sides of the snifter for me to enjoy as I consumed.

The nose released a fairly prominent amount of caramel malt and sweetness. Slight, fruity hints of pear along with a significant amount of yeasty, dark breads and earthy goodness. I even detected a smidgen of spicy coriander as well. Not much on that front though. Just a touch.

The taste was filled with caramel malt. I received a solid dose of pear, however I also got a light shot of orange citrus. The fruitiness couldn’t overpower the malt, but it was still strong enough to notice. Again, very bready and yeasty with a sturdy earthy/herbal quality. No real spice to speak of in the taste.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied. Smooth and chewy. The carbonation was nice and a sound amount of warmth was felt from this 7.0% ‘er. A discernible amount of flavor was left behind on the palate after each sip too.

This was an ok beer for sure. It was just a little bit too malty for me to be one of my favorites, but I had no trouble enjoying or drinking it. It’s definitely worth a try if you see it. Don’t expect a hop bomb or anything because you will not receive that from this brew, but enough of that citrus juice is present to make for a pleasant experience. So, if you guys happen to see the De Struise Svea IPA, pick it up and give it a go and let me know your opinion. I’m for sure gonna try to find a few more De Struise beers to partake in. It seems like they make a solid product.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone. I really appreciate it.

Until next time. Cheers.

Score: 3.7 out of 5
Grade: B

Review of De Struise/Mikkeller Elliot Brew IPA

12 Jul

Hello everyone. For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying the Elliot Brew IPA, which is a collaboration by De Struise Brouwers located in Oostvleteren, Belgium and the Mikkeller Brewery located in Kobenhavn, Denmark.

I couldn’t find any specific description regarding this beer on either struise.noordhoek.com or mikkeller.dk, but I was able to find a great deal of information on ratebeer.com.

Behold the second of RateBeer.com’s Worldwide Masters Series! This request edition ale is the crafted alchemy of a party of some of Europe’s finest brewers, Mikkel Bjergsø and Kristian Keller of Mikkeller (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Urbain Coutteau, Carlo Grootaert, Phil Driessens, and Peter Braem of De Struise Brouwers (Woesten-Vleteren, Belgium).

Both breweries have attracted considerable international attention for their artful interpretations of traditional ale styles enlived by a rich sense of invention. And both are also very highly esteemed by the RateBeer.com international community of beer tasters. We hope you enjoy this unique little treasure.

Ok. Let’s give it a try.

This beer came in an 11.2 oz. bottle and it had an ABV of 9.0%.

It poured a deep caramel color with an off white head that was very frothy, soft and soapy. The size was excellent and the retention time was quite good. It left behind plenty of adhesive lacing as it subsided also.

The nose brought forth a sturdy dose of caramel sweetness and candied sugar. I also found it to be rather yeasty and herbal. Somewhat piny and floral. It was a little bit phenolic, but it was very well balanced and harmonious. It wasn’t extremely robust. Instead it had a medium strength bouquet that was very pleasing and satisfying.

The taste presented tones of yeast and bready characteristics with some peppery spice along with gentle, earthy/herbal hops. Once more, a significant amount of caramel malt and sweetness. Just a light taste of alcohol was discovered. The hop bitterness was solid, but nowhere near like the sticky, lip puckering bitterness that one may find from an American-styled IPA.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied. Smooth, dry, and just a smidgen tacky. Good carbonation and slightly chewy with a nice bit of warmth. A lot of flavor was left behind after each sip too.

Well, I think we have a very good beer right here. I really liked it. I’m guessing that the De Struise/Mikkeller Elliot Brew IPA is somewhat rare. I was pretty lucky to be able to pick up a bottle. I would definitely recommend you guys snatching it up if you happen to run across one. Don’t expect that crazy hop bomb that you are accustomed to with the American IPA’s, but rather a sweet, sugary, slightly bitter brew. It’s got plenty to be happy about and quite a nice profile to boot. The drinkability was reasonably good as well, however it could be slow sipped and contemplated if need be. Be sure to let me know what you think when you try it.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone. I really appreciate it.

Until next time. Cheers.

Score: 4.1 out of 5
Grade: A-