Head to Head: Rochefort Trappistes 8 vs. Struise Pannepøt

Welcome to another Head to Head challenge. Today we have two Belgian Strong Ales. Both beers are from Belgium. The first is Rochefort Trappistes 8. The second is Struise Pannepøt.

As usual the tasting was done blind and rated to style.

Price: Tie.

Rochefort - $6.50 (12 oz)
Pannepøt - $6.50 (12 oz)

Appearance: Winner – Tie

Rochefort – Pours a nice brown with a small off-white head. The small head quickly subsides leaving a small amount of lace.
Pannepøt – Pours a clear brown with average off-white head.

Aroma: Winner – Pannepøt.

Rochefort – Lacks the normal sweetness I would expect but does have aroma with hints of smoke and coffee.
Pannepøt – This has a wonderful pine aroma with some caramel, a bit of oak and lots of spice.

Taste: Winner – Pannepøt

Rochefort – Unfortunately as mentioned in the comparison against the Westvleteren this bottle tasted rough and lacked any sort of distinct flavor. Unfortunately both bottles tasted the same.
Pannepøt – This starts with lots of caramel sweetness but balances that with a nice spiciness that prevents it from becoming cloying.

Body/Finish: Winner – Pannepøt

Rochefort – The body is slightly astringent and lacking depth.
Pannepøt – After all the sweetness a small amount of bitterness comes out in the creamy finish. Not much but it adds just a bit more complexity which is nice.

Overall: Winner – Pannepøt
Unfortunately just like the Rochefort struggled against the Westvleteren in yesterday’s comparison it also struggled here. The tastes were done the same day so the bottles were the same ones that had started to go off. Now as for the Pannepøt it is rapidly becoming one of my favorite beers. Quite simply it is stunning. I love the sweetness and the added spice. It creates a wonderful beer to finish a night. The only thing I would say is that it is sweet and if you want a beer with more bitterness you might not like it as much as some others in this style.

I will need to do a comparison against Pannepot to see which I like better.

~ by alelagerlambic on March 21, 2008.