Great Reserva
Brouwerij Smisje in Mater, East Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪
Stout - Imperial Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.29
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Ibrew2or3 (10819) reviewed Great Reserva from Brouwerij Smisje 16 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Little squat bottle pours a murky amber color with tan head and a touch of lacing. The aroma is light with sweet malts and booze notes as well as oak and oxidized sherry earthiness. The taste begins with an initial wave of sweet malts and sweet bourbon like booze. By midway the oak surfaces along with a bit of resiny hops and spicy earthy sherry notes. Into the finish the booze helps dry it out. Certainly a barrel heavy brew where the bourbon has smothered most of the once tasty base beer.
Sebletitje (15877) reviewed Great Reserva from Brouwerij Smisje 16 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
pours thin brown , beige head. Aroma, cognac is light, hints of dark sugar. Flavor cognac is present though not overwhelming as the Grande Reserva was, some spicy notes light malts, with a thin chocolate profile that becomes more apparent as the beer warms up. Another Belgian version of an Imp. Stout, might not be in the same profile as many others. Tasty none the less.
nuplastikk (10473) reviewed Great Reserva from Brouwerij Smisje 17 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
11.2oz grenade bottle. Thick brown, with a big, luscious head. The aroma lets you know something different is going on, but it mixes quite well with the Belgian yeast/sugar sweetness. Smooth and quite nice, this one ups the original. One of the best Belgian stouts for sure.
BMan1113VR (8090) reviewed Great Reserva from Brouwerij Smisje 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle thanks to mar. Pours with a huge, creamy, off-white head, and a hazy amber body. Aroma of dirt, silt, soil nuitrients, congac, charred barrels at the finish, some nuts too. Taste is silt, nuts, and chocolate, alcohol is extremely well hidden. Odd mouthfeel, creamy then dry, ultra low carbonation
beastiefan2k (4724) reviewed Great Reserva from Brouwerij Smisje 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Great hook up from BOLTZ. I pop the top and I let the smoke from the carbonation just sit there for a few moments. I peak into the bottle neck and see the foam just inching its way up. Well, looks like I need to pour this right away. Of course, it pours with a very large head, very bubbly, and not white, more like a very light tan color. The body is a dark brown, with no clarity, just some lighter edges. As the head fades slowly it leaves a super sticky lacing on the glass. Aroma is super air-y with a lot of effervescence just shooting up the nose, not a surprise from Regenboog but this seems even stronger than usual. This seems to subdue the rest of the aroma, again a running theme for this brewer. There is some woodsy, sweet, and lightly fruity bread. There is some faint spirit alcohol essence as well, may just be the effervescence or maybe its coming in through some of the fruitiness. Or maybe the greater effervesence and the light fruitiness a combination of the yeast and the cognac. Taste is very "brown" like an amp-ed up brown ale. Some slick, tobacco-ish, dark malts, some leafy oak and spirit coming through as well. Its light, the yeastiness is not coming through (a disappointment, as that is what I seek with Regenboog brews). The sweetness has been turned down a lot compared to the regular Imp Stout. I think this makes it a lot more accessible to folks not in love with this brewer. Finishes with some faint and watery cognac (I guess its cognac, its weird) and just a bit of yeasty sweetness dough and sweetness. As I top the beer off there goes that humongous head again. I think this would be more appealing to people who do not love this brewer. And as is sometime the theme, this beer is sometimes getting in its own way. Still nice stuff, a lot of the yeastiness and sweetness that I love in the Imp Stout is diminished here by a lot.
Thanks again Jason, 33cL bottle, Regenboog chalice.
Sloefmans (15389) reviewed Great Reserva from Brouwerij Smisje 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Hazy brown-amber ale with a small cream-beige head, fading. Strange musk-like smell, nearly animal, with whiffs of black chocolate and cardamom. But the meaty/estery, musky smell keeps determinant. Vinous warming up. Bitter tasting, hoppy and burnt, with bitter chocolate flavours and a backthroat spirit flavour, that is strangely more Bourbon- or whiskylike than brandyish. Peanuts flavour and more meaty esters warming up. Thinned by the alcohol, I think, but the base seems pretty rich. The alcohol peeps out, warming, after some time getting sharper. Quite good balance, much better than the original Catherine. Aftertaste gets finally something sweetish warming up. Very good one, and another proof for my pet idea, that Belgian brewers really should look more into barrel-aging. And fast, too.