Struise Pannepot Reserva

75 cl bottle, thanks ekstedt. Brown, cloudy, with a mostly diminishing, light brown head leaving virtually no lacing. Dark bread, toast, raisin and brown sugar to the nose. Quite sweet with an averagely long finish. Medium bodied, creamy, chalky with soft carbonation.

Bottle. At Chris O’s September 2008 DenCan bash. Huge thanks to ... oh damn: harrisoni? reakt? I’m sure one of you will let me know ... Anyway, 2005 vintage. As it poured it looked a lot like wine ... brownish, slightly cloudy wine, with a decent if diminishing head. Lovely aroma - stellar, just what I would hope for from any Pannepot - a lush melange of yeast, spice, sweet fruity malt, mild tartness and alcohol - nothing out of the ordinary, but done so, so well. The taste was ... a bit thin; frankly, this hasn’t aged as well as I’d like - the yeast and malt seemed to have pulled apart some. The body seemed a little wan, and I was surprised how the alcohol had started to overpower the malt and spice ... it seemed a bit on the overcarbonated side too, but at least the finish was decently sweet. I’m no expert, perhaps this will thicken in a few years, but it seemed thin when I sampled it. Still a very good beer for all that.

750 ml bottle, vintage 2006, thanks to Jeppe for keeping the beer for me. A cloudy dark ruby beer with a medium sized, beige, creamy, lacing and persistent foam. The aroma is very complex, malty, fruity (cherries, berries, dark fruits) and spicy. Lightly woody and alcoholic. The flavour has a medium sweetness and a light acidity. The oak is well integrated. Very malty, spicy and fruity and some light licorice and chocolate notes like the regular Pannepot. Warming and very complex. Medium to full body, average/lively carbonation, long finish with light bitterness, lightly alcoholic. World class, no doubt.

750ML bottle opened the night before i left for japan. My favorite of the series including GR. Dark brown body with etoh and spices radiating off my tulip. Dark fig fruit, liqorice, Solid beer.

33cl, exclusive brew Anno 2007, from De Hopduvel Gent, very complex brew, balanced, hazy, good head, very good brew, top class!

Pours cloudy dark brown, with a large, tan head. Aroma is fruit, oak, alcohol, and malt. Flavor is fruit, smoke, malt, vanilla, and oak. A nice medium bodied palate. Nothing beats you over the head, as far as the oak, or the fruit. It’s a well balanced, well made, tasty brew. Thanks for this bottle, Brad.

Black with a low but dense grey head. The aroma strikes me as very spicy, pretty close to oaked rum with further notes of liquorice and dark chocolate. Going into the flavours I’m suprised by a combination of sweet belgian strong ale and sour ale in the distance. Prunes and dades are present along with cherry, and brown sugar. Figs blend in carrying wood and earthy notes along with it. A fine specimen, but not as good as the regular Pannepot.

Part of our hotel room tasting, GABF 2007. Thanks to whoever brought it (awaisanen? kp? don’t remember). Big, creamy, eggy head. Smell is absolutely decadent in the oakiness and alcohol, swaddled in caramel and brown-sugar malts that occasionally remind of unsweet chocolate. Nice body, has a rich feel like Westy 12. Lots of different flavors packed in this mostly sweet concoction of malts: figs at first, some bright peaches later, some prickly raisin riding the carbonation, definitely some brown sugar around the figs and peaches, and running counter to it the whole time is an oakey oiliness. Very, very tasty. Since this tasting, I’ve had regular Pannepot a couple of times, and like it better, but it’s pretty damn close. Struise, I love you.