Struise Pannepot Reserva

750 from Belmont Station. Looks lighter in SRM than reg. pannepot, slightly deeper nose of wet basement, lime and carroway. Spicy but kinda hollow, OK mouthfeel but just a bit underwhelming and beat up, not much oak character to speak of until the very last sips. It’s not as good as some other "regular" pannepots I’ve had...

C&PLYFOTD: 2005 bottle, courtesy TheCheeseMan. Caramel red pour, thin lacing and a white head. Slightly tart nose, cherries, hazy chocolate, licorice, honey, and just a shit-ton of spices. Rich brown sugar flavors, caramel and chocolate, very dry sexy tartness throughout. Very rich. Full-bodied, very yummy, could drink for ages. Delicious.

Bottle from SL. Splendid brew, quite like the original but (did a held back bottle side by side) with some excellent oaky sawdusty notes. The pour was dark orangey-chocolate brown. The head was not as large as the original, but still quite nice and pretty. The aroma was complex, grapes, coriander, cinammon, other spices, light floral elements, apples, some dark fruits, caramel, chocolate, and sawdusty oak. The flavor was full of rich dark fruits, chocolate, grapes, apples, spicing, floral character, full sawdusty oak. The 10+% alcohol was quite smooth. The mouthfeel erred on the malty still side, yet was decent. Thanks, Robert, for making sure I got a bottle!

2005 vintage, consumed March 2009. As I popped the cap, the cork slowly started to creep out of the bottle neck on its own accord. Sensing an impending eruption, I swept in with a waiter’s tool to ease the stopper out under control. A loud pop confirmed that this was indeed a well carbonated bottle, though, thankfully, no foaming ensued. The pour yields a dark and dense, cloudy, mauve colored body that is crowned with a large and well retained head of creamy, khaki colored foam. Dense, solid sheets of lacing coat the glass almost entirely. Aromas are of stewed raisins and figs, with dark caramel notes and hints of light cocoa in the malt base. Candied orange peel and dark, earthen, wintery spices lend significant balance to the dark, fruity sweetness. Flavors follow suit, a bevy of dark, concentrated fruits showing strong, with raisin and fig being the dominant components. Anise and cocoa are accompanied by heaps of oak and vanilla, which really ties everything together nicely. The spicing is again quite earthy, potent, yet appropriate for this brew. Substantially bodied with above average carbonation activity, the mouthfeel is round up front, transitioning quickly to fizzy and semi-dry on the finish. This is an excellent beer. Not quite as masterful as the original Pannepot, but more impressive than both the Danish version and the Grande Reserva.

Darker brown color with a gentle beige head. Aroma has a wonderful mix of dark fruit, gentle oak and vanilla, light spice, and a nice brown sugar mix that all goes into the nostrils like an angel. Flavor is a smooth and hearty mix of brown sugar, vinous fruits, tangy spices, and a good amount of oak. Mouthfeel is superb and seems to last forever. Wow - I’ve been a pannepot fan for awhile, but always felt that the spices and sugar were a tad disjointed. This pulls it all together and becomes my favorite Belgian beer of all time, and one of the best brews ever - hands down.

750mL bottle, 2005 vintage, poured into a snifter. The cork popped out loudly on this one and pours dark brown out of the bottle and settles in an opaque near-black that is a deep, clear copper when held up to the light. The head is massive, cream-colored and very rocky on the bottom with tons of carbonation feeding the head throughout. Aroma is very sweet with tons of candi sugar and dark fruits, raisins, grapes, plums, etc. Has a cola-ish aroma to it with hints of the wood that leads to a sherry scent overall. The has the same candi sugar up front with some sweet dark fruit with a bit of sourness to them, just a touch. I agree with others that the wood seems to have smoothed the taste a bit and minimized some of the huge complexities that I really enjoy in the original. The booze and wood is definitely present in the finish, leaving a burn going down. The mouthfeel is velvety smooth and medium bodied with lots of carbonation. It’s definitely slightly drier than the original with a bit more wood presence. Needless to say, this is a great beer, and the wood presence is subtle but makes it a different beer from the original.

Wonderfull slick brew with a lovely smooth mouthfeel, a complex, extremely inviting oaky aroma and a vinous, multidimensional taste. Really somewhere in between Pannepot and the Grand Reserva wich is, in my opinion just right. Easy to drink aswell with no trace of the alcohol, finish a bottle of is not the slightest problem.

2005 vintage: Taste is sweet, metallic some nuttiness, caramel, winey, and oak, some alcohol. Lots of wine, dustiness, some sulphur, cherry, cidery. Aroma is metallic, cidery, cinnamon, sugary-sweet, more sulphur, and oak. Lots of rocky head that adheres to the glass even after the head dies down. Finish is sweet, still more metallic flavor, wine, some dryness and sweet nuttiness. Thick, sweet mouthfeel that does not cloy, nor does it get get overly bitter.