Pannepøt Old Fisherman's Ale

Beer: Pannepøt Old Fisherman's Ale
Brewery Location: De Panne, Belgium
Beer Style: Quadruple
ABV: 10%


I just got this bottle around Christmas time and have been wanting an occasion to try it, and I watched In Bruges the other night, so I figured that was as good a time as any. I love the Quad style, and it is perfect for a cold winter's evening I think.

Appearance: This beer pours a dark mahogany with amber highlights around the edges with a decent sized two fingers worth of head that had fairly good staying power.
Smell: The nose is full of cloves, nutmeg, dark fruits, and a slight acidic vinegar twist to it as well.
Taste: The flavor profile is full of dark fruits including cherries, raisins, and plums. I also get some concord grape jelly in there in as well. I get a bit of coffee and a bready malt that works well here.
Mouthfeel: This beer is full bodied with lots of fine carbonation that renders itself quite smooth and creamy.
Drinkability: Even at the high ABV the alcohol is hidden and this was a great and relaxing drinking experience.

I really enjoyed this beer, and will be picking up a few more of these in the very near future if I can find this version. If you have seen In Bruges I highly doubt that Colin Farrell's character would call this beer his nickname for Belgian Beer. This was a great beer and an even better drinking experience.

Cheers!
Matt

De Struise Brouwers Black Albert

Beer: De Struise Brouwers Black Albert
Brewery Location: De Panne, Belgium
Beer Style: Belgian Royal Stout (Russian Imperial Stout)
ABV: 13%




I certainly hear about all of the new beer that is coming to town, and the hype behind this beer was fairly intense among the beer geeks/blogs/beer forums. I try my best not to read anything about a new beer until after I've had it. I've found that inevitably a beer will never live up to the hype that it is given if you really get yourself wrapped around how good a beer may or may not be. De Struise makes some great beer, and one of my favorites is their Old Fisherman's Ale. If you make a great Quad, I will pretty taste anything you make after that.

This beer was brewed especially for the Ebanezer's Pub in Lovell Maine. The beer was actually brewed in Maine under the specifications of De Struise. They call it a new style: a Belgian Royal Stout, but it was brewed in the Russian Imperial stout style and where it is classified.

Appearance: This pours a deep brown color that is very close to black with a thin swirl of brown froth that quickly dissipated. The beer coats the glass extremely well, but left minimal lacing.
Smell: I let this beer warm for 45 minutes outside of the fridge, and the nose was still subtle with scents of chocolate and dark fruits, and it showed its Belgian roots with the unmistakable scent of Belgian style yeast.
Taste: The flavor profile is heavy on the front of the tongue with coffee and dark bitter chocolate. The middle of the beer gives flavors of dark cherries, plums, and figs before being ending on a bitter note.
Mouthfeel: The warming alcohol quickly catches up with you, but for a RIS this beer has a thinner mouthfeel than I would have expected and has the mouthfeel of a good Quad, but not a RIS.
Drinkability: The alcohol is well hidden for a 13% beer, but the price would keep me away from this beer.

I am certainly glad that I got to try this beer, and overall is was a pretty good beer, but not worth a dollar and ounce though is what is equates to. If this beer were in a four pack around 15-20$ I would buy it often, but 12 bucks for a 11.2 oz bottle it needs to either be one of the best RIS's that I've tried or one of the best Quad's that I've tried, and it doesn't make it into either category for me.

Cheers!
Matt