Name – Panil Barriquee
Country – Italy
Type – Flanders Red Ale

My work week is just about over.  After 9 days of working in a row I just need to complete today and I’m off for 4 days.  I have to do this once a month.  As much as I love having 4 days in a row off I just hate working 10 days in a row before that.  Ugh, that’s life.

But on a good note I would like to public congratulate my good friend Phil from Dos Beerigos for becoming the South Florida rep for Cigar City Brewing.  The man deserves it and will do a great job.  I guess that will mean he will be blogging even less than almost never.  But there’s still United We Drink right?

So as my work week winds to an end I opened up a bottle of something I was going to try to save but my taste buds got the better of me.  Today I’m reviewing Panil Barriquee out of Italy.  It’s a Flanders Red that’s aged in oak barrels.  To be honest I’ve had this one numerous times at tastings but finally got a bottle of my own and just needed to open it.

It pours a reddish brown color into my tulip from the Bruery.  There is a small off white head but it’s gone pretty quickly.

Right as soon as I opened the bottle I got scents of freshly peeled Granny Smith apples.  When I put my nose into the glass for a smell there is a good funk with hints of cherries, grapes and plums.  I can pick up an ever slight bit of oak in there as well.

The taste has a nice tart flavor of the fruits.  It is a bit acidic in there too.  There is notes of vinegar and then finishes off with the oak that leaves a dry finish.

The bottle I have was marked as batch 12 from 2010.  So I would make a guess that this was bottled late in 2010 so it probably had a good 8 months of age on it.  I’ve had some many year old ones of this before too and I just got to say I think it’s a fantastic beer.

It’s no surprise to many that sours are my favorite styles.  I wish I could drink them everyday.  But alas they aren’t that easy to get a hold of and are usually expensive.  This baby is around $18 for the 750ml bottle.  But they are great occasion beers like celebrating a friend getting a job or yourself having worked a period of time without a day off.  That’s how I do.

Or you can go grab a bottle and let it age.  As I mentioned it still tastes great with a few years on it.  So if that special occasion isn’t just around the corner you can feel alright just laying this one down until one pops up.

Grade – A