Struise Pannepot Reserva

C-Bus 10: Bottle shared by moejuck: Pours a nice mahogany, with a light tan head. Aroma, woody, some fruits, vanilla, caramel, sweet. Flavor, fruits, some floral notes, malty and sweet with some nice oaky vanilla tones. Very nice brew.

Bottle shared by Egajdzis. Pours about the same as the other Pannepots- deep woody amberish brown with a foamy cobwebby head and nice lace. Aroma is mostly fruityesters- raisin and plum with licorice hints, some nuts, almond-like, toasty and caramel malts with hints of vanilla. Some phenols as well as more esters develop as it warms- fruity and hints of vanilla phenol and earthy almost plasticy as well- sweetness is a bit more subdued from the barrel and isnt as sharp as the regular- good amount of oak and vanilla but not overdone so it isnt woody or too earthy. Some carmel and molasses sweetness throughout with a smooth light finish- some alcohol hints as it warms. Nice overall, but It wasnt mind blowing.

Bottle thanks to boboski: Dark mahogany amber with a frothy, nicely-lacing dark tan head. Aroma of sweet dark candi sugar and fruity esters with a nice mild oaky complexity and a hint of doughy yeast. Body starts with a nice earthy dark caramelk sweetness balanced with drier oak and lightly spiced with a hint of tartness and alcoholic warmth toward a doughy finish. Effervescent palate makes this seem not as sweet as the regular version.

Aroma: light oak, floral, some butteryness, some red grape skins, vanilla, wood varnish, earthiness
Appearance: plum/tobacco brown, large off-white head, lacing
Flavor: some butteryness, oakiness, old barrels, earthiness, mustiness, pipe tobacco, vanilla and dark fruit skins, butterscotch candies
Palate: very smooth and buttery, silky, soft--like satin sheets, buttery/butterscotch aftertaste followed by a oakiness

2006 vintage, 750ml bottle
Pours a dark brown and purple with a really attractive pillowy tan head, building tall and then collapsing into crevases and mountains, with clingy, sticky lacing. Nose is a plum port and oak note first, then some moderately strong alcohol, some whiskey and some sweet pipe tobacco. Palate is creamy, flavor up front is smoky, with a bite of sharp plum flavored pipe tobacco. Wonderfully complex, but somehow it’s missing the wow factor that maybe is due to this being highly rated and my expectations being really high. Heavy chocolate and banana are noticed when it warms, as well as some tart cranberry and cherry pits. The sweetness of the Pannepot is surely there - I really like that the oak is mellow and complimentory, not overpowering, but I guess I should expect this from a brewer who seems to do everything right. Fantastic stuff.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 4     Pale Yellow(1)->Copper(5) : 4     Still(1)->Volcanic Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 4     Lasting: 5     Lacing : 5
Aroma:
Intensity : 4  
Yeast : 5   Bread : 2   Dough : 4   Esters : 4   Phenols : XX   Dusty : XX   Spicy : 2   Apple : XX   Banana : 4   Tropical Fruits : XX   Brett : XX   Barnyard : XX   Leather : XX   Wood : XX   Vinous : 2   Cheese : XX   DMS : XX   Diacetyl : XX Sulfur : XX
Malt : 4   Pilsner : XX   Pale : XX   Vienna : XX   Biscuity : 3   Toasty : XX   Hay : XX   Caramel : 3   Honey : XX   Cereals : 3   Grainy : XX   Wheat : 1
Hops : 1   Noble(1)->American(5) : 1   Leafy : XX   Perfume : 3   Orange : XX   Floral : 2   Lemon/Lime : XX   Herbal : XX   Grassy : XX   Piney : XX
Notes : Pepper : XX   Cloves : 1   Coriander : 1   Ginger : XX   Orange : XX   Earth : XX   Vanilla : 2   Oxidation : XX   Bubblegum : 3
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 5   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 5   Sourness : XX   Acetic : XX   Lactic : XX   Bitterness : XX   Farmy : XX   Complex : 5   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 4   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 4   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 3   Mineral : XX

Comments: A ridiculously complex beer, thick, spicy with extreme sweetness and pure yeast decadence. I recognize the subtlety in the barrel flavour impartition, but it felt almost futile to a Pannepot. I can’t say I found it greater. If anything, it felt a bit more alcoholic, of course woodsier and I found it more caramel focused. Less naturally spicy, but just as gorgeously fruity. Anyway, both are world-class and I can’t imagine anyone who enjoys one and does not the other. A must.

Thanks to BierKonig for the bottle. This pours dark brown with a foamy, dirty white head. The flavor has some sticky sweetness along with notes of dark fruits.It finishes smooth and dry. It’s a tasty, well-crafted brew.

Bottle. Vintage 2006. Pours a dark amber/grown color with a large longlasting off-white head. Has a malty spicy licorice aroma with hints of dark fruit. Smooth malty dark fruit flavor with spicy licorice and vanilla hints. Malty oak finish with hints of dark fruit in the aftertaste. Very nice!