Panil Barriquée (Mild)

Brewed by Panil Birra Artigianale - Birrificio Torrechiara
Style: Belgian Ale
Torrechiara-Parma, Italy

0.5L Bottle courtesy of my good friend Marco
Bottle was gushing and some yeast snuck into the glass - cloudy red chestnut, offwhite lacing head. Wooden and light tart cherry aroma. Starts off with a oaky flavor from the barriquée which transforms into a subtle cherry and balsamico note. Creamy and sparkly mouthfeel. fruity aftertaste. The mild version is not about extreme flavors and it doesnt have the sourness of a flemish red at all, but its elegant nuances definetely makes it worth a try.

Murky hazy opaque mid brown red with a large lasting pale beige head with random lace. Mild woody fungus with faint hint of bubblegum and malt aroma - I wish it was a bit stronger. Palate is very smooth lowish carb. Flavourwise it’s a bit disappointing, Medium lightly sweet malt with woody, light body yeast with hint of vinous sour and medium lemon rind and hops bitter dominating the finish. Aftertaste is a fading malt sweetness and alcohol comes through as it warms. The wood seems incidental which is strange considering it is wood aged.

Bottle at GBBF, August 2005. One good thing about having a big backlog is that all the confusion about this beer had been clarified by the time I get to enter my rating. At the time I was rather bewildered. Very sour? Top 50? No way. Little did I know at the time that this was the dumbed down version reserved for us Europeans who don’t know how to deal with sour beers (like Belgians?). And not making it clear that there are two versions is not too smart in my book. Anyway, the beer was a hazy copper colour. Quite flowery, perfumed aroma with some vinous touches. More vinous notes on the palate and lots of wood. Moderately sharp, but not exceptionally so. Some stone fruit. A good beer, but I was distinctly underwhelmed at the time. Only subsequently did I find out why. Interesting that the US version is down as a Flemish sour, but this one as a plain old Belgian ale. And that’s what it is.

Sweet malty and floral, lavender tones with plenty of woodiness but no obvious sourness. Medium body is lightly warming with moderate but soft carbonation. Very enjoyable.

RBESG 2005, Hazy deep amber colour with a small off white head. Sour, fruity and light yeasty aroma. Mild balanced tart flavor.

Sweet malty cherry aroma with a strong woody character. Cloudy caramel brown with strong tan head that recedes slowly to partial cover with some patchy lacing. Sweet malts, dark cherries, and floral, lavender tones with plenty of woodiness but no obvious sourness. Medium body is lightly warming with moderate but soft carbonation. Very enjoyable and not at all what I expected going into this. Bottle sampled at GBBF 2005.

Bottled at RBESG 2005. Pours a dark nut brown, with a tan head. Aroma is sweet malty, with some barnyard components. The oak is very present in the nose. Taste is sweet, fruity, oaky, but not sour at all. Nice beer, but not exactly what i expected.

Bottle (GBBF): Cloudy light brown, ruby notes. Small tan head. Oaky nose with some subdued berries. Nice malty start. Mildly acetic with a touch of dark fruit. Medium-full warming feel. Very nice, but lacks acidity.