Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne

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

Pours dark reddish brown with a frothy tan head. Aroma a combination of sweet and sour cherries. Very sweet up front, flowing into a mild sour and finishing smooth with a slight vineous tartness. Med-low carbonation. Medium mouthfeel. Good beer, bit would like to see more sweet/sour balance. A little heavy on the sweet side.

(3/6/08) Bottle at Waterhuis aan de Bierkant in Ghent. Clear deep red with a beige head. Aroma of oak, some malt and berries. Flavor has some sweet malt (maybe a tad too sweet at first), berries and mild sourness and oak. Nice mouthfeel and softly carbonated. Well-made - very balanced and pleasant.

Bottle, bought @ Den Tatoverede Enke, Cph.
Pours a wonderful, deep, deep mahogany with a small creamy beige head that leaves brilliant lacings. Aroma is absolutely sublime, some sweetness, light toffee, weak berries, funkiness, brett, caramel and lightly roasted - stunningly composed. Low to medium carbonation - quite creamy mouthfeel. Flavour starts off rather sweet with a good dose of maltiness (having the beer too cold resulted in some unwanted metallic off-flavours, though they disappeared as it heated up). A nice fruity tartness balances very well with the sweetness. Is this the Goudenband II? There is hard roasted oakiness and malt at the finish in the aftertaste. Still stunning.

Sweet flavors all around of almonds, apples and yeast. Hints of brown sugar, sour milk and dark berries. A bit of oak and honey too. The sourness is not to pungeant and it is melowed buy a fair amount sweetness. Very easy sour to drink.

On tap at Town Hall Brewery. Aroma of sweet and sour apples, cranberries, and dark fruits. Deep red-brown body with white head. Medium body with smooth mouthfeel. Great fruit taste to this ale - it’s initially sweet with apple and vanilla, then finishes with a nice tartness of sour apple. Clean aftertaste.

(Dégusté avec french tickler) Une biere brune ambré avec un collet tres collant. Odeur de cerises, d’alcohol, senteut tres sure. Gout sucré, avec banane et alcohol, je dirais meme porto. On dirat un espece de gout medicamenteux. Une bonne biere agreable.

Very surprising beer. The smell is sour, tart and fruity. The first sip tastes like Balsamico vinegar or saladressing. The fruit aroma and tastes appears with the next sip, and then the full falvour kicks in. Rich fruity taste, with a perfect sourness keeping it drinkable for hours.

I felt the Duchesse had a beautiful aroma. A unique wine like quality. It has a very nice color. The taste was great with complex sweetness with hints of "sour". I will add this to the collection.