We are lucky to get to try this beer, as it was only destined for the US. I saw the brewery’s social media post about filling cans for the first time, and immediately contacted them to order some, but it wasn’t happening. Ultimately we agreed that if there was any leftover after the batch was packed and palletised for the US shipment it would be mine. And fortunately there were 17 cartons that didn’t fit in the US container, so that is what we have.
Verhaeghe are cashing in on the ‘Duchesse’ name again here, with this being a replacement for the Barbe Ruby beer. It is a deliberate marketing decision to focus on the Duchesse label that is so popular in the US. And of course we are doing our best to make it popular in Oz too!
Our beer is a sweet cherry sour, a top fermented mixed fermentation beer Flanders Red Ale matured in wine oak casks for several months while macerating on cherries.
It pours a lovely deep red colour, with an attractive pink head. The aroma is quite sweet, a lot more so than the actual taste. There is lots of cherries (of course), a hint of almond and other red stone fruits.
The flavour is more balanced. It is initially sweet, but not so cloying with what I’d call tartness (rather than sour) coming in mid-palate. Not enough to induce many eye scrunches, but more than enough to make things interesting. It is a great beer from Verhaeghe, and all the more cool that it is in cans!
This is a mixed fermentation ale aged in oak barrels for one year
The classic Flanders Red Ale - the Duchesse of Burgundy
Verhaeghe's Duchesse with 20kg of sour Limburg cherries added per 100 litres of beer
Verhaeghe's famous Duchesse De Bourgogne with the addition of sour cherries and chocolate essence
A delicious blend of two Petrus beers used to create this traditional Flanders Red ale
by Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm Breweries)
The tribute beer to Alexander Rodenbach, reintroduced in 2016, 30 years after it was first created
by Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm Breweries)
A Flemish Red Ale featuring 67% aged beer and 33% young beer
A typical Flanders Red Ale from this seventh-generation family brewery
The original flanders oud bruin from the old family brewery Verhaeghe, this is an unblended cask aged beer
A Belgian Export Porter from a brewery more known for their Flemish sour ales
A fruit beer featuring sweet cherries from the family Brouwerij Verhaeghe
The classic Flanders Red Ale - the Duchesse of Burgundy
Verhaeghe's Duchesse with 20kg of sour Limburg cherries added per 100 litres of beer
Verhaeghe's famous Duchesse De Bourgogne with the addition of sour cherries and chocolate essence
A flemish mixed fermentation ale with northern sour cherries added during the barrel maturation
Verhaeghe's special Christmas beer is a blonde ale with wheat and spices
The original flanders oud bruin from the old family brewery Verhaeghe, this is an unblended cask aged beer
