Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne

Date: 8/1/09 Beer info: Bottled in brown 250ml bottle 6.2% abv BB 10-12-09 Sampling Notes: Served chilled in chalice. Beautiful deep amber body with dense offwhite foam that coats the glass well on the journey down. Rich, complex aroma; treacle/golden syrup-like malt sweetness, oaky vanilla and cinamon, caramalised balsamic vinegar, all in prominant and in great balance. Velvet-smooth body, sticky texture, carbonation is creamy. Acetic acidity kicks in but is blended very well with the overall sweetness. Riciculously complex flavour; treacle, dark brown sugar, toasted oak, vanilla, cinamon and clove, sherry, raisin, vinous plum and dark berry, caramalised balsamic vinegar. Finishes with a sharp acidity, touch of alcohol, but oh so smooooth. Awesome beer, very similiar to a big oaky red yet with a sweetness to balance it all. Probably not for everyone, but once you get into it, ’normal’ beers seem boring in comparison. Definately gives Rodenbach a run for its money.

Bottle. Creamy off-white good mostly lasting head. Amber colour. Light malty and hoppy very nice sour aroma. Moderate bitter cheasy/sour powerfull flavor. Nice liong finish. Oily palate. Very nice.

I was scared at first, but this is really smooth. Nice thickness, saturating your mouth and not nearly as sour as a lambic. It tastes very natural, earthy. $7.99 per bottle at Whole Foods

Bottle - Pours a beautiful rosy amber with a nice head that’s both frothy and bubbly. You can smell the wood and fruit from across the room. Up close there’s a bit of a metallic twinge and a lot of sour cherries. The metallic smell is also present in the taste, along with cherries, raspberries, balsamic vinegar and oak. There’s also a whiskey flavor that doesn’t seem to fit. A dry, sour fruit taste lingers in the mouth for awhile on this one.

Bottle. Poured a reddish brown nice head. Aroma is very sour. This is my first sour ale so that probably explains the low rating. I thought it was pretty aweful very sweet and at the same time very sour tasted of vinegar. Sweet and sour, like it on my pork not sure if I want it in my beer.

Burgundy pour with foamy, frothy white head. Nose is upfront and tart with sour, dark fruit and a carbonated effervescence. Palate is medium-bodied and appetizing. Flavor is starts very sour with cherry and licorice, then mellows with some oak, and smooths nicely into malt deliverence. Damn fine and well representative of the style.

On tap at The Blind Lady in San Diego. Lovely red-brown color in the glass. Has a nice sour/tart nose. Hints of dark grapes linger. Taste is sweet. Candy and tartness. I liked this.

The color is absolutely beautiful, the sour smell wonderful, the taste suprisingly soft and the finnish nicely tart. Up there with rodenbach when it comes to sweet and sour beer, the fruity notes are just beautiful. Why don’t they hype this at all? Goddamn classy bitch of a beer.