Duchesse De Bourgogne - Brouwerij Verhaeghe

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

4.41/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a wine glass, produced a nice tan reddish head that has really solid retention. Colour is a dark ruddy brown, essentially opaque. It has a great lacing and film.

Smell has a pleasant tartness, vinegary fruitiness. A pervasive sourness, red wine cask. A really interesting interplay of flavours, balanced and complex, with a supporting malt body, not much bitterness, and a sour prickle.

Taste has a wonderful, floral and tart opening. Quite a bit of sourness initially but this is countered with more developing slightly sweet malt. Hop character is restrained, but a really nice earthiness comes through. Finish is delicate, and really smooth and dry, subtle red wine tannins and oak. Continues to combine and blend seamlessly, sourness isn't too strong, really complex flavours.

Mouthfeel is moderate bodied, but with a ton of richness, just on the cusp of being syrupy on the palate but without much sweetness. Carbonation is pretty light, but suits nicely. Finishes nicely crisply, definetly pleasant, and highly enjoyable as a sipper but without too much body to be too heavy.

A very excellent beer. Hard to find faults here, and its really tasty. As far as the take on the style, it isnt as in your face sour as others, and seems to have a more balanced approach and flavour, with a slight roast malt sweetness on the palate that brings it all together really well. A great beer with a ton of flavour worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 21:04:38 | More by mick303

Ryan011235

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a Peculier Pub tulip on 1/29/13

Best Before: 05/01/2014

Dark copper color with ruby highlights. One and a half inch head fills the upper portion of the glass. Billowy, uneven retention and raised patches of lace.

Acidic aromas, dark cherry, damp oak, hints of blackberry jam, herbal hops and notions of spiced bread. With each sip, sourness and dark fruit juice wash o'er the palate. The sourness falls away pretty quickly leaving a robust, jammy fruit middle which, by some stroke of talent or luck, isn't very sweet. Undercurrents of jam-ready bread notions. Musty oak lingers at down times in flavor. The feel is brisk what with the shot of sour and ample carbonation, despite the body being of moderate heft. Clean, slightly oaky finish.

I am not the most eloquent or well versed on such beers; this is just mighty tasty.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 02:51:36 | More by Ryan011235

bobhits

Kentucky

4.21/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 4.25

As expected a rather clear reddish orange body with a nice thick creamy dark cream head. Pretty nice presentation all and all.

Sour cherries, sugar, and hints of vinegar.

This is a great beer. The cherries give balance to a very nice puckering sour beer. A good amount of vinegar and tartness.

The carbonation seem a touch off to me. It's perhaps just a bit to explosive on the tongue. Still a minor complaint that doesn't hurt this beer much.

This isn't Rodenbock but this is a must try and the beer is priced extremely well.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 03:59:08 | More by bobhits

CloudStrife

New York

4.23/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

11.2 oz bottle poured into a snifter. Best by 14/06/2014

A: Pours a clear dark rube with a one finger slightly tan head. Lots of visible carbonation in the body. Head sticks around as a thin covering for quite a while. Leaves some good lacing on the glass.

S: Hits your nose with a sweet, fruity, sour blend of malts and yeast. Vinegar and oakiness permeates as it warms. Cherry comes through as well as dark fruity malts.

T: This is a tart and sour beer with a great sweetness and fruit. Strong cherry and some real good oak. On the sweeter side of the spectrum.

M: Very crisp, lots of carbonation combined with a fairly thick mouthfeel with a bit of a syrup feel. Dry feel, alcohol is lost in the flavor.

Overall this is a phenomenal beer, very easy to drink and an amazing flavor. Would love to drink this all the time.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 00:48:46 | More by CloudStrife

spoony

Colorado

4.23/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From a 750 ml bottle into a wine glass.

A-The beer is dark brown with ruby highlights. A normal pour produced about one finger of dirty, light brown head that faded into a cap pretty quickly. The cap hung around until the end.

S-I love the smell of this stuff; a real highlight. I get bright, tart cherries, acidic vinegar, sour apples, toasty oak, and a bit of earth. The whole thing melds together just right for me.

T-The taste is sweeter and simpler than the smell. Still, the flavors are tart cherries, apples, pears, and a little kick of funky earth. The sweet taste overpowers some of the oak and acid that make the smell so great.

M-The beer has a fine carbonation with a medium body. A touch watery feeling.

O-Disclosure: Years ago, this was one of the first sour beers I ever had, so I'm sure there is some nostalgia coming in here. Anyway, I really enjoy the Duchesse. In particular, I could smell this beer all day long. The taste is a little sweet and the feel was merely good (not great), so perhaps this beer lacks the balance and complexity of the best sour red ales (Rodenbach Grand Cru, for example), but the Duchesse is still a great example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 19:05:11 | More by spoony

devlishdamsel

Washington

4.3/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

S: Single 11.2 ounce bottle from shelve of local beer section in natural market. It was the last bottle. I thought about picking it up last week during a haul, but hesitated due to the price tag. Luckily she was still there when I returned and a friend of mine who is a local distributor sang her praises.

Appearance: Darkish red ( sadly the tulip style glasses i used were a very dark glass, its possible my perception of the color could be off due to this.) Very frothy voluminous white head.

Smell: As this was aged in oak casks for a bit i could definitely smell notes of that.

Taste: Exceptionally complex, with a very mild bitterness and slight sour acidity. I sipped on this with dinner and finished off with pairing it with fruit later. This beer pairs amazing with fruit, especially pineapple.

Mouthfeel: slightly carbonated in texture, but almost smooth like a cider. the froth on the head is composed of very fine bubbles.

Overall: Definitely a win! I will definitely add this beer to my rotation of Belgians as it deserves no less.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 02:35:50 | More by devlishdamsel

IPA35

Netherlands

4.35/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle form a sampler box of Belgian beers.

Appearance:
Dark ruby red in the glass with a white(ish) head.

Smell:
Vinious, dark fruits, green apple, a hint of (balsamic) vinegar and oak.

Taste:
Very fruity. Red fruits. It is a rather sweet beer but with a good tartness to it, as per the style. It then finishes with a surprisingly bready maltiness. Very different this style is indeed. Not much vinegar in the taste fortunatly. Not unlike red wine actually, but without the awefullness.

Mouthfeel:
It is rather full bodied and has plenty of carbonation.

The verdict:
Overall a very interesting beer. And a good one at that but very different from you average beer. This is much more vinious and tart that nearly all beer styles out there.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 18:58:15 | More by IPA35

TheBrewo

Michigan

4.4/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

We pour a glowing ruby red brew. It holds a three finger head of fat, creamy tan bubbles. This shows excellent retention, leaving thick and chunky lacing down the glass as it slowly dissipates. There is a slight haze, with little flecks of sediment noted, while carbonation appears moderate. The aroma is bright with caramel and pale malts, warming oak, and huge puckering tartness of yeast and fermented cherries. Warmth brings out bitterness of plastic phenols, a heavy blanket of basement musk and dust, and light ethanolic fire. Our first impression is that there is surprising sweetness to balance out the immense tartness. As we sip, metallic musky yeast, honey sweetness, grape and strawberry sugars, pale toasty malts, and peppery spice of booze mix for a complex start. The middle peaks with enhanced sweetness of grape and “sweet tart” candies. The latter affords pucker amongst the sugar, giving an aged, fermented quality to the fruitiness therein. The finish comes with pale malts, grit, souring funky yeast, that tartness of aged cherries (much like a kriek), and brown apple sweetness all washed through with a significant coiny cleanse. The aftertaste breathes of plastic phenols, solidly pale malts, light and dry oak, bittered metallic coininess, sweet cherries and apples, and general tartness of yeast and that same fruit. The body is medium, and the carbonation is medium. There is excellent slurp, cream, froth, and smack to each sip. The mouth is coated in this bubbly glory, but soon dries with gritty astringency along the tongue and tooth line. The abv is appropriate, and the beer drinks very nicely.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the complexity of flavor, and the unique balance of sweetness to even out the classic puckering tartness. From the moment of the pour we knew things would go well with this one. The coloring glowed, and the head stood tall and strong. The aroma gave us a lighter hint of the excellent mash of flavors within which, alone, would have you coming back for more. The feel only builds this desire, as there is nice frothy slurp to each sip. This is an outstanding beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 00:26:38 | More by TheBrewo

Seanniek91

New Hampshire

4.8/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 11.2oz bottle into an Affligem Goblet.

Appearance- Beautiful amber color with no sediment floating around. Little to no head, but a slight ring around the top.

Smell- Oak, vanilla, tobacco, cherry, yeast, some malts. Absolutely beautiful.

Taste- Cherry, vanilla, malts. Some oak is present. Not to sour. Very well balanced.

Mouthfeel- Nicely carbonated. Very smooth, not too resinous.

Overall- This is a beautiful beer. All around very well balanced. I'll be buying this again.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2012 18:45:30 | More by Seanniek91

spdyfire83

Ireland

3.53/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

297th Review
Bottle to Westy XII chalice
Vintage: Not specified.
BB: 2014-09-03

A: Medium plum red. Half (off-white) fingernail head on soft pour.

S: Tart cherry, cranberry, soft vanilla, and slight hint of vinegar acidity. Oak and hint of earthy red wine as well.

T: Soft sour character up-front with cherry, oak, and vinegar overtones. Muted red fruit sweetness and a bit of barrel here as well. Okay at best.

M: Medium bodied with decent carbonation.

O: Slightly above average here as this beer needs some time to become more rounded.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 23:38:08 | More by spdyfire83

ThomasMetal75

Massachusetts

3.78/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 4

A- Black like stout with red tints throughout the entire glass. Had a thick head at first, but died quickly.

S- WOW! Estery dark fruits and red wine yest. Very malty and very inviting!

T- God damn! This has the carbination of a champagne, but with a taste of red wine! Just like the smell, It has a dark fruity/estery quality to it. It's very chewy! The finish is somewhat sweet before it changes to dry. Unlike any beer I've ever had in my lifetime!!!

M- The beer's downfall is It's too carbonated. Full bodied like red wine, but fizzy.

Overall it through me a curve ball, but in a good way. I've never had a beer like it. Itwas just like red wine. I want to try this with steak or lamb chops sometime in the future! An A rated beer for sure!

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2012 07:52:47 | More by ThomasMetal75

chugalug06

Colorado

4.3/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Large straw colored bubbly head. Lacing is spotty. Brew has is a nice clear burgundy color.

Light green apple tartness. Some light peach and apricot.

Smoothly (heavy) carbonated, surprising judging by the head. Flavors are intricate and blend well. Lots of peach, apple, and pear. Bitterness is slight, burn is none, and bite is slender.

A bit all over the board, but recommended. A nice well distributed Sour. Relaxing and unique for a Friday after a busy week.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 03:01:32 | More by chugalug06

rangerred

Tennessee

4.2/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml bottle into a goblet.

Pours a nearly clear medium brown with a smallish half finger tan head. Ok head retention with pretty good lacing.

Aroma has quite a bit of tartness and cherries along with some vinegar. Barnyard in the background along with yeast. Of all these aromas, however, tart dark fruit really dominates.

The flavor really has a lot going on. Lots of tartness and dark fruit up front but there is a solid powdered cocoa flavor underneath that surprised me a little bit. Barnyard rises quickly next but it remains restrained. Quite acidic all the way through but has a slightly sticky finish. Carbonation is soft and high.

Overall, a tasty but not over the top complex brew. It would make a good introduction into the expansive world of wild Belgian beers.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2012 02:46:16 | More by rangerred

sapper1252

4.03/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 mL bottle. Good carbonation. Mild barnyard smell, definitely some cherries.

Taste was mildly sour, with cherry sweetness. I was expecting more sour.

A good Flanders Red, but I've definitely had better. I did find it pleasant, however.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2012 00:39:03 | More by sapper1252

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

4.18/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

11.2 oz bottle poured into a snifter
Best before 03-03-2012

A- Dark orange maroon color. A two finger of an off tan head. A nice looking beer.

S- Wheat, grass, dark fruit, Hay, a slight twang.

T- A nice dark fruit up first. Sweeps over with a grape, wine type taste. A lot of hay and lemon grass. A sour tang, A slight spiciness.

M- This beer has a great feel to it. Smooth and silky. High carbonation. Spicy and sour.

O- Absolutely fantastic. This is my first Flanders Red. A fantastic sour.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 00:27:23 | More by TwelveOunces

Maltmaiden

Alabama

4.03/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beautiful burgundy. Medium carbonation. Clear. Small head that goes away quickly and leaves a tiny bit of film and lacing.

Smell sour cherries. Toasted malts. Molases. Lemon.

Taste sour black cherries. Toasted malts and finishes with some breadiness (which I really like). Ruby red grapefruit. Winey. Green apple.

Mouthfeel it sticky. Nice carbonation.

Overall: I guess I am just new to this style but I was just not a huge fan of the tart/sweet taste. I am waiting for a headache to kick in from the sugar.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 04:54:31 | More by Maltmaiden

BhamBeerLover

5/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Oh the dutchess... Shall I compare the to a summer's day? Seriously though, this beer is phenomenal. For one expecting a good sour ale this beer cannot be beat, though potentially tied. I got exactly what I expected and would not wish for this beer to change at all. I hope to be able to share this beer with my children, when they are old enough of course. (At least not until they hit double digits.) Thanks to all those Flemish folks for this amazing contribution to the world beer community.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 03:36:14 | More by BhamBeerLover

Danny1217

Florida

4.35/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark brownish red, with some bubbly carbonation. Nice off-white head, with excellent retention. A half hour into it and there's still a little layer of foam.
Smells of sweet and sour fruits. Berries and some caramel like sweetness. Not as pungent as a lot of sours beers, and that works to its benefit.
The sourness is mild, but it's definitely there. Nice berry taste. Strawberry, cherry, some grape. A bit of a bread like character. Medium body, not too thin, but not overpowering either. Delicious.

The sour beers are winning me over. Duchesse is one of my favorites now.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 03:57:36 | More by Danny1217

homebrew311

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into Goose Island silver goose glass. Appearance is a deep brownish red with a thin layer of white head. A moderate amount of clarity and minimal lacing. Nose is oaky with a bit of funk. Lactic acid comes through with cherries and vanilla. The taste starts off with a touch of fruity sweetness. This is quickly countered with a healthy dose of vinegar followed by funk. This all gives way quickly back to a candied fruit quality. Notes of oak finish this off. Mouthfeel is light with light carbonation. Overall, this sour isn't as sour as I'd hope, but it does have decent balance.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 07:25:01 | More by homebrew311

BarryMFBurton

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Apparently this beer is a classic Flanders Red; to be honest, though, I hadn’t heard of it until I saw a small bottle hiding in the back of a liquor store shelf. Good to know that what I randomly picked out has a general “thumbs-up” from the community.

Good for another year (“Best before: 09/11/2013” is printed on the label).

A: A deep red color pours from the bottle, striking in its darkness, though it exudes a ruby shimmer when held up to the light. Head is creamy, but not very lofty – it’s settling at about a half-inch, showing a couple small hills of beige cream (especially over the nucleation site). Stringy lacing here and there.

S: The sours run as deep as the color, sinking the nose into a cheesy, syrupy, lactic warmth. It’s rich, not bright, and it’s absolutely engaging. Some lighter notes of raspberry and blackcurrant do play out, yes, but they merely drizzle over the layered toffee and nutty sweets beneath (thick malts, no doubt, acting as the bedrock of this brew). An olive oil note hovers over it all, too, likely extracted from the clean smoothness of the sour character.

T: A soft sweet-and-sour palate, nothing like what I was expecting; this may be the most interesting beer I’ve had in a while. Swells first with sweet fruit, reminiscent of overripe cherries, strawberry preserves, and baked apple, all with a lightly sour balsamic vinegar note accompanying – and all this ends up in a convergence of crisp spiciness (like a bell pepper) with metallic tinges. Wonderfully complex. Soon after, it shows a moment of grains – earthy tannins and mild almond – with flashes of barnyard flavors – smooth, savory funk, like you’d find in a creamy goat cheese. In all, it really is just beautiful balance between sweets and sours, and a nose-dive into complexity, at that. Light cherry syrup on the aftertaste and that’s it – a mild, mild finish.

M: There’s a very sophisticated smoothness to this one, making it all the more like a wine. It doesn’t have that fire on the way down, but it does lie full on the palate without much weight in the aftertaste.

O: Never had a beer like this – I’m blown away. Though staggering on the first sip (and not necessarily in a good way), Duchesse De Bourgogne has confirmed something to me that I seem to have experienced a few times already: beer is art. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2012 22:16:29 | More by BarryMFBurton

Flounder57

Massachusetts

4.23/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

11.2 oz was poured into a snifter.

Appearance: This beer poured a one finger head that has reduced a little to a puffy white head. It is a reddish/amber/crimson color with some clarity and signs of carbonation coming up through the glass. Lots of carbonation too.

Smell: Tart, sour, oak, bready notes, and sweetness from the fruits use in this beer. Smells good.

Taste: tart flavors galore and sweetness. Cherries and raspberries, a little sourness, bready malts, and truly a tasty beer.

Mouthfeel: A bit dry, medium to high carbonation, a little chewy, tasty, and medium bodied.

Overall: bottle or draft, you can't go wrong. Such a cornerstone of a beer for this style.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 06:16:49 | More by Flounder57

Fatehunter

Oregon

4.45/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Into a snifter. Ruby colored with a two solid fingers of head.
Smells like cider vinegar, cherry and pear.
Fruity taste: cherry and pear again. A little malty sweet at the end with some lemon.
Champagne texture, lots of bubbles but not overly carbonated. Light body.
The vinegar smell actually fit well and thankfully didn't transfer into the taste. Top shelf here. An excellent all-around drink.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 17:51:27 | More by Fatehunter

goodbeerallday

Australia

4/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: appearance is a dark royal cherry red with a with a nice amount of carbonation bubbling to meet an off white film of head consisting of about 1 fingers depth.

S: large sour notes. again cherry, some raspberry maybe and also a slight detection of a grassy characteristic. extremely sweet. aged woody oak character as imagined.

T: really complex! sour, dark, nutty, fruitful. almost like putting a sugar cube into your mouth, residing into cherries, grapes and a woody note that splinters onto your lips and across your tongue. maybe the minor detection of alcohol.

M: very sticky, covering teeth and all sides of mouth. an extremely dry finish resulting in a line of excess sugar across lips.

O: a different outcome than expected of this beer. something i could sit and have with a home cooked meal for sure but not something to have more than one bottle of i feel. loving the woody characters arising and as always the dark fruits. recommend to try

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2012 21:24:13 | More by goodbeerallday

Jamesthebrit

Michigan

4.15/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Ruby red with lots of bubbles. Good lacing.

S: A good sweet and sour but also some woody cinnamon note or so. Maybe like fig and grape as well. It's a little hard to decipher.

T: As the smell a good sweet and sour. Great fruit notes and a good musty finish. A little bitterness helps on the finish. Very complex and defined.

M: Musty bitterness comes through and the large amount of carbonation really makes it difficult to rest on the palate. It seems like the mustyness is really brought out while it rests on the palate.... Mmmmm quite...

O: A very nice beer. Great fruit notes but still has some malty and hoppy notes. I would recommend it.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 22:55:55 | More by Jamesthebrit

heygeebee

Australia

3.95/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

BB 2013. From Platinum.

Pours a deep brown mahogany. Lovely fluffy head looks like it wil stay but doesn't. Spotty lace.

Aromas of balsamic vinegar, sour cherries.

Taste is tart, sour cherries, malt backbone. Some vinegar on back palate to finish dry. Very refreshing, but not in a hot-summer-day beer kind of way.

Mouthfeel light. Lightly but definitely carbonated.

Well made beer, and nicely complex without being a flavour bomb.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 10:39:47 | More by heygeebee