Tuesday 2 June 2015

#269: The Pan and Pot

No, not a poorly named English village pub, but a poorly constructed play on the word Pannepot.

De Struise's flagship strong dark (quadrupel?) is brewed with spices unspecified on the brewery's website and the range goes through a number of different barrel-ageing variations under different labels.

This is the base level beer, as far as I can tell, not aged in oak and dated 2014. Dark brown it pours, with red highlights against the light, the tan coloured head scared off by the 10% ABV before long. The aroma is faintly spicy alright; clove is the main player, perhaps some general Christmassy nutmeg and cinnamon stuff. Really though, the general effect is a big dark chewy malt sweetness. The only other sideshow here is a hint of acidity, not strong enough to be called sour at any rate. As expected, the palate is a sweet and savoury blend of chewy toffee and fresh earthy tobacco, with a raisiny sugar-sweetness and, despite probably not being aged in oak, it does have a sort of vinous depth and complexity that suggests a bit of age.

Rich and quad-like, but very easy to drink. I could certainly get used to this. 

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