Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne

Brewed by Verhaeghe
Style: Sour Ale
Vichte, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

This one has a very good-looking label! Remind me the MacCallahan advertisement on TV at least ten years ago... Anyway. Duchesse is special: never tasted one similar until now. Colour is dark red; smells woody (probably the oak where the ale age). Sour flavour, between vinegar and wine, and the aroma too, except a touch of cherry.

deep ruby colour with a nice ruby highlight. aroma is of fruit, lactic and oak. flavor is a nice mix of the sour and fruit sweetness. a great beginners sour.

Bottle from Barley Wine. Deep red with a light brown head. Tastes like a thin bodied red wine. Spicy like a glüwein, sourness like a kriek. Plus for complexity but minus for lack of stringency.

Bottle. Pours a dark reddish brown with a full, lasting head. Smokey, sour fruit aroma is detectable for me, but not as strong as I had imagined. Probably don’t have it in the right type of glass. Full-bodied mouthfeel and a murky, sweet fruity taste; apples, cherries, wonderfully sour vinegar. This is right up my alley. The palate is complex and lasting. Very nice beer. My first sour ale, and I’ll be back for more.

Deep brownish red, slightly cloudy from the yeast, with a small head but good retention and very good lacing. Strong sour fruit aromas featuring apples and cherried. Some smokiness as well. Flavor is dominated by the tart fruits, with a solid malt backbone, and a surprisingly dry, crisp finish. Lively carbonation and a soft, smooth mouthfeel. Very enjoyable, but I’d have trouble with more than one.

Bottle. Dark brown and bubbly pour with an off white head. Barnyard and funky aroma. Almost sour cherries in the nose. Taste is sour and vinegar. Reason I didn’t rate it higher is because it had little to no complexity. So while I did enjoy it, it was lacking..

On tap at Dilly Deli. My first foray into the world of Sour Ales. Deep ruby red color with a small white head. Aroma of sour fruit and yeast. Excellent complex, mildly sour and tart fruit flavor (cherries, raspberries, apples, apricots, plums, currants, etc.) with some oak and yeast in the background. It’s almost as if some beer was poured into a glass of wine. This would pair very well with many different foods. A wonderful and unique beer that everyone should try.

Aroma of Balsamic vinegar. Pours a deep red/brown with a fizzy head. Wooooow.I did, but I didnt expect that. First drink, bad, second drink, dynamite. Heavy flavor of apple cider vinegar, Im liking it. Somewhat dry and tart finish.