Panil Barriquée

This here is a Flanders Red style ale that has recently starting to be imported into the United States via the Shelton Brothers. This one happens to come from the small Panil brewery in Italy and it's the only Flanders Red I know of that is produced in Italy. It carries a hefty price tag of around $20 for a 750ml bottle, but being the sour beer loving crazy guy I am, I simply had to try it.



My bottle features a blue and purple label with a white drawn oak barrel. Bottled in 2005, the interesting cap has a small embedded plastic cork that gave a healthy pop when I got it off. Pours from the bottle a deep dark brown with tons of garnet hues. Very mellow carbonation creates only a small bubbly head that becomes a ring around the glass with spotty lacing. Aromas hit before I even pick up the glass. Sour cherries and oak collide with a sweet burnt caramel, brown sugar note underneath. A bit funky with some vinegar-esque acidity in the nose. The mix of sweet, sour and wood aromas is quite tantalizing. Simply a lovely aroma.

First sip brings a mix of sweet, warm caramel notes along with a blast of slightly puckering sour cherry. Dry, earthy woody oak flavors flow throughout the length of each sip. A bit vinous in character, I'm enjoying the interplay between the sweet and sour sides of this brew. Fairly acidic with a steady sharp, earthy yeast flavor throught. The subtle funkiness reminds me of a nice lambic. With each sip I can envision the barrel containing this brew, sitting in a dark corner in the brewery, slowly awaiting the day it will be ready to be bottled. Yum.

Mouthfeel is smooth and a bit slick with a really mellow carbonation that allows it to slide across the palate and into my beer lovin stomach. Quite the tasty flanders red here. It's easy to sit and adore a 750ml bottle of this fine Italian brew. Well worth the bigger price tag, Panil deserves praise for creating a truly tasty beer. Thanks to Shelton for bringing this over to the sour beer lovers like me in the US. Now that the bottle is almost gone....it's time to seek out more!

This beer garnered a 4.25 out of 5 from me. Check out their website by surfing on over to www.panilbeer.com