Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne

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

bottle: Pours a dark reddish brown, with a foamy off-white head. Aroma is of vinegar and is quite tart. Flavor is of dark fruit and is medium sweet with a nice lasting apple tartness. Nice and smooth on the palate but lacking in carbonation. A head is easily formed with a swirl of the glass. Not nearly as good as I remember when it was on tap. I might buy it again, but not anytime soon.

Deep clear reddy brown with a large tan head that fades to leave a thin constant covering. Aroma is at first vinegar but then there is deffinate cherries and an oaky finish, flavour follows suit with a sweet edge to it but the lovely sour taste dominates - a cracker.

Location: Bottle from Markt in NYC, 6/27/09

Aroma: Dark fruits and vinegar mostly, grape (almost wine-like), some cherry, a little oak
Appearance: A nice looking dark red color, with a nice foamy beige head
Flavor: Much sweeter then anticipated from the nose, definitely more sweet then sour, but pretty nicely balanced
Palate: Has a good mouthfeel to it, a nice body
Overall Impression: A different kind of beer for me, this one almost struck me as wine-like in its nose and sweetness. I was expecting actually something a little more sour, but it was a pretty decent ale. I haven’t had many of this style, so I don’t have a plethora of comparative beers in my repertoire, but I thought this one was pretty solid, if maybe a tad overly sweet for my tastes.

330 ml bottle from a trade with hobbersr. best before 27-02-10. slow gusher. pours clear reddish brown with a lingering tan head. aromas of sour dark fruits, wood, vinegar. the flavour starts with sour fruits which leads to some woody funk. there is some dryness mid palate with a touch of sweetness near the end. not very sour and not huge in flavour. a beginner sour ale IMO. thx for the bottle hobbersr.

Bottle pours deep red with a khaki colored head. The aroma is heavily influenced by vinegar, cherries, and a slight amount of cheese funk. As for the flavor, there is definately a lot going on. Tart cherries and apples, brown sugar, toffee, oak and under-ripened strawberry. Nice balance of sweet and sour, moderate body, and relatively mellow carbonation. May not be my style, but I can definately appreciate how well made it is.

250 ml bottle. Clear, deep red with an impressive beige head. Complex aroma of ripe fruit, raisins, spices and vinegar. Flavor is complex as well, Sweet and sour, malt, acid, brown sugar, oak and vinous. This is simply a masterpiece of a beer, so complex its difficult to describe and all the way so balanced no particular flavor dominates. One of my all time favorites.

Earthy aroma with some yeast and cheese. A huge foamy head. I drank this as I was trying to get a campfire started, and somehow the natural surroundings heightened this ale’s good qualities. This was tangy and fruity, with herbal notes. I did not know it was a sour ale - it seemed more like a strong saison or farmhouse ale to me. Excellent!

On draft at Twains in Decatur. Reddish brown in color, nice frothy tannish head. Aroma pleasantly of sour dark cherries, hints of vinegar and slight wood. Flavor moderately sour, not overly assertive--underlying dark fruit and sugar sweetness that you don’t always find in a sour. Mild tartness, vinegar. Finishes slightly sweet, not really with the dryness I would prefer. Still, nice sour--probably the most accessible I’ve had.