Duchesse De Bourgogne - Brouwerij Verhaeghe

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BA SCORE
92
exceptional
-
1,996 Ratings

THE BROS
94
exceptional
-
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rAvg: 4.13
pDev: 14.77%
Reviews: 1248
Hads: 748

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Brewed by:
Brouwerij Verhaeghe

Belgium

Style | ABV
Flanders Red Ale | 6.00% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (1092), on-tap (155), growler (1).

Notes:
Belgian top-fermented reddish-brown ale, a blend of 8 and 18 months old beers following the careful maturation in oak casks.

View: Beers (10) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by nhindian:

nhindian

Pennsylvania

2.4/5 rDev -41.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

11.2oz bottle poured into a Cantillon wine glass.

A - Pours a deep cherry red, almost perfectly clear and extremely pretty. The hue and darkness brimming around it makes the parts which are that mahogany look even more vibrant. About 2 fingers of tan head, with great retention as well. The lacing is weakest part of an otherwise spectacular-looking beer, with it being sticky, but to the beer instead of the glass. It does loosen up as it is drunk, however.

S - Unlike past Red Flanders I've encountered, this beer isn't too focused on the tart or the funk, but rather embraces a more full-bodied aroma. It does bring the slight sour, but it's more of a binding agent rather than jumping out and overwhelming the beer. Surprisingly, a good amount of caramel malt comes through, as well as some vinegar. Not incredibly complex, but certainly whets the palate.

T - Whereas the nose and appearance built this beer up, the taste just does not do it for me at all. Again, the tartness is almost a complete afterthought after a few seconds as it is thrown to the wayside in lieu of a big wave of vinegar. This persists throughout the beer, unfortunately, only stopping momentarily to bring in quick jolts of cherries and grapes. The finish, however, is a complete turn-off. It is somewhat vegetal and saccharine, almost as if there's just too much sugar or sweetener in it (although I am pretty sure nothing in this beer is artificial). Moreover, the blend of all the flavors and the vinegar leaves the finish eerily tasting similar to ketchup in a strange way.

M - Mouthfeel is moderately light-bodied with decent carbonation. Not the most lively beer, but I'm not expecting that given the strict aging requirements of this beer before bottling. Long lasting finish of tart cherries, vinegar, and Heinz 57.

D/O - Drinkability is moderately low. I'm disappointed that after the relatively strong first impressions, this beer just falls off quick for me. Way too much vinegar, not enough tartness, and the vegetal notes in the finish are brutal. I had this at a bar tasting about a year ago, and it was my first sour. I thought it was pretty decent then, but it was just a small sample, and I guess my palate has developed a taste for different types of sours since then...

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2011 05:33:00 | More by nhindian