#horizontal tasting

It's been a while since I've had a horizontal tasting. My pumpkin ale tasting went pretty well, I feel, and now I need something new to do. I figure my trip to SoCal for my San Diego Beer Tour will be a good opportunity to collect some beer for my next round.

Horizontal and Vertical Pannepot 2011, Pannepot Reserva 2009, and Pannepot Grand Reserva 2005....at the same time! Yeah, I did it.

This is what I would qualify as an epic tasting.  

It was not quite scientific or controlled but it was informative and delicious all the same.  These three very notable beers--each currently with perfect 100 out of 100 scores for both style and overall on Ratebeer--were bottles I picked up as I was starting my aging cellar a little over a year ago.  Finding bottles already with a few years on them was too hard to pass up at stores like State LIne Liquors (MD), Bierkraft (Brooklyn), and Healthy Beer (SF) where I believe these came from.

De Struise, founded in 2003 and now with their own brewery, is the most notable new guard brewery out of Belgium right now that I know of. In the 2012 Ratebeer Best Awards they just ranked at #23 world wide and #3 from Belgium behind Westvleteren and St. Bernardus. They experiment and push Belgian traditions without venturing into the absurd in any beers I've had. And they like wood! Check out their barrel aging Facebook banner photo! Wow.

The Pannepot series is their flagship. The base is a classic strong ale done perfectly and currently ranking at my #11 on Ratebeer. The Reserva is that aged on French Oak, The Grand Reserva is the Reserva aged a little while longer in used Calvados barrels. 

Pannepot 2011, drank 1 year old

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION

In the early 1900s, the village of De Panne, close to the French border, was famous for two things -- the ‘Pannepots,’ or fishing boats, that could be seen along the coast, and the unique dark ale enjoyed by the local fishermen. Our Old Fisherman’s Ale is a tribute to these hardy sailors and their rich, flavorful brew. Unfiltered. Unpasteurized. Bottle-conditioned in 33cl and 75cl.

My score: 4.4/5

RateBeer weighted score: 4.2/5

It pours a rich brown with a fully lasting tan head and good lace. The aroma is much more fresh and hot than the others though not off putting at all. The yeast and malt are of fresh brown bread and caramel. There’s no oxidation. The fruits are just ripe, both orchard and bananas. The flavor is mostly sweet but not cloying, restrained alcohol heat and spice in the foreground, and with fruits and baking spices riding through. The mouthfeel is incredibly full, creamy, and lively. I feel like I should love the older Reservas more but this is just so comforting on top of being only slightly less rich. The flavors and aromas while still distinct are in harmony and perfectly expressed.

Pannepot Reserva 2009 bottle, drank approximately 3 years old

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION 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.

My score: 4.14/5

RateBeer weighted score: 4.3/5

It pours a deep clear brown with reddish tinge. The initial tan head gives quickly. The aroma is a rich sweet bread and yeast with very ripe dark fruit and a little nice oxidation. It’s just a tad more hot and full of fruit esters than the PGR and much richer than the standard. The aroma just keeps going and pulls you in. Flavors are the same with some cinnamon and clove taking hold in the middle before a somewhat woody bitter end. It’s moderately sweet but in incredible balance. It is just a little less heavy, rich, and warm than the older calvados aged PGR.  It is very luxurious with a lively creamy mouthfeel and warming, woody end. This is a masterpiece to say the least and is drinking perfectly right now. 

Pannepot Grand Reserva, "2005" bottle, drank about 5 years from bottling 

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION "Vintage 2005" Our PGR has aged for 24 months on oak barrels and has been bottled for the first time on the 27th of December 2007. The main difference with the Pannepot Reserva is that PGR matured the last ten months on Calvados oak barrels, adding extra complexity to the beer. We dedicate this beer as a tribute to Jeppe & Michael of Ølbutikken in Denmark. Those gentlemen were the first to discover our beers on an International basis back in 2004 and are responsable somehow for our beers being all over the globe since then. As a token of gratitude towards Jeppe & Michael, the first shipment of PGR was scheduled to Ølbutikken so they could be the first to launch its commercialisation.

My score: 4.2/5

Ratebeer weighted score: 4.06/5

This old boy pours dark, almost opaque, brown with a dark brown diminishing fizzy head and lace. The aroma starts with simple bread and yeast then goes sweet boozy raisins and figs, following with spice and herb notes. The flavor is moderately sweet raisin bread with a little tang early, later moderate bitterness, with wood and chalk taking over. Silken soft texture gives way to a dry tannic end. I don’t get much Calvados but the booze is easy enough. It's a seriously complex, rich, deep beer that draws you in at each raise of the glass--a special occasion in itself but worthy of a celebration.  At 7 years out of fermentation it’s still drinking wonderfully but next to the 2009 Reserva there is a noticeable dead yeast component. That may be a sign it is past prime. It’s considerably more rich though more mellowed and oxidized.