Struise Pannepot Reserva

’05 Bottle...can’t remember who came through with this for me, but thanks. Pour was a dark brown with a tan head. The nose on this is something to behold, notes of dark plums, cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, oak and dry cocoa powder. Nice carbonation...flavors were spiced malts, dark fruits and oak. Great beer.

750ml of the 2005 vintage. Pours dark brown with a tan head. Lots of carbonation in the pour. Aroma is of malt, yeast, sugar, dark fruit, oak, and alcohol. Has an amazingly inviting aroma. Taste is of dark fruit, particularly plum. Lots of yeast, alcohol, caramel malt, and sugar. Has lots of undertones of smokey oak and tobacco. Lingering sugary plum flavors. Creamy, heavily carbonated mouthfeel. The alcohol is well subdued, but provides a nice warming effect. Really damn good.

Bottle, cheers Mes. Dark brown with a beige head. Awesome aroma of liquor. Taste is fantastic, a joy to drink. A lot to take in when drinking this, very complex and thinking about it made my head hurt. So I just enjoyed it. Chocolate, dark fruits, mellow hint of something licorice like. Beautiful.

The Pannepot Reserva 2005 is a Belgian Ale brewed with spices and aged in oak barrels. In that description alone, there were at least 4 buzz words that make me weak in the knees and set my heart aflutter. Enough blathering, time to get down to business. Or is it pleasure? Or both?

She came to me one lonely afternoon in a translucent brown dress with fringes of hay and a soft collar made of cottony whites. As she holds me in her embrace, her exotic perfume woos with lightly sweet and exquisitely spiced esters. Toasted raisin bread, butter, and cinnamon sugar while maple syrup, brown sugar, and gourmet turtles replete with nuts offer a helping hand. As we dance into the night, our lips are soon drawn together in a show-stopping kiss which leaves me floating on air while her essence lingers long on my lips. Warmth almost immediately starts to permeate my body while cinnamon and raisin bread wait for a drizzle of maple syrup. Each kiss is sweet, warm, and lightly spiced. Faint esters of candied apples with their soft outer sweetness and crunchy apply insides transport me to an olden farmers market where nature’s bounty is celebrated. Our time together cannot last forever; I know this and yet I do not want to admit it. As I bid farewell to my Pannepot Reserva 2005, she leaves me with one last gift of remembrance, dark breads and fruits steeped in spiced rummy oak. Ascendance is nigh.

As you can tell by the year of this particular Pannepot, she ages with grace and aplomb so I will be sure to set aside a few bottles for the years to come when I am finally able to acquire some. If you should be somewhere, anywhere, and have an opportunity to take this beer home with you, please do. Trust me. You will not regret it.

Bottle courtesy of Immy on 07/18/2009. Clear dark brown body with ruby highlights and a medium creamy tan head. Sweet spicy, fruity, belgian aroma, some slight tartness. Big fruity flavor, lots of spice, belgian notes, light fruit. Medium body with moderately high carbonation.

Bottle shared by Marcus - 2005. Pours a dark rich brown with a frothy tan head. Strong dark fruit aromas over dark malt. Full bodied with mildly frothy carbonation. Flavor is several dark fruits with cola and mild yeast. Darkly fruity, hinting of bitter and not demonstrating heat. It takes time for the oak to come out. Worth the wait.

Bottle is labeled PNP 4 2005. Pours opaque dark brown with a fluffy tan head and a yeasty aroma. The flavor is raisin, plum and slightly sour with lots of oak. It is much more mellow than the regular pannepot and certainly more sour from the barrell aging. The sour stays on the palate a while. Lots of spice.

2007 bottle from De Bierkoning. Very dark brown with a big tan head. Vinous aroma and flavours. richer in the mouth, revealing chocolate, spices, fruit and vanilla. Very complex indeed. Accomplished.