Duchesse de Bourgogne

[TomFogarty]

Duchesse de Bourgogne (6.0%)      Serving temperature: slightly chilled

Glass type- chalice   Beer style- Flanders red ale
Colour- Dark brown caramel
Head- Poured small, no retention
Aroma- sour vinegar, with sweeter fruity notes followed by malt

This beer goes down smooth, and tastes strongly of balsamic vinegar. Despite the sour funk it still offers robust fruity notes with malt and hints of caramel. Also some nice oaky notes. Very mild, clean hops and lingering fruit to finish. Very light mouthfeel, sharp carbonation like a soda.


Please note that I may or may not have had a few before writing this up so I probably missed a few things  
I had this bottle at the Laundromat back in Moncton and found it to be heavier in that "balsamic vinegar" taste... Tried another one a while back at a neighbour's house and it tasted more like funky raspberries. That one was brought straight back from Belgium, mind you... it does seem to differ from batch to batch in my experience.

[Richard]

I'd say it's more of a malt vinegar flavour, but I've not seen the stuff here (you guys seem to prefer white vinegar for some reason). Definitely good with fish and chips, at any rate

[jamie_savoie]

I'd say it's more of a malt vinegar flavour, but I've not seen the stuff here (you guys seem to prefer white vinegar for some reason). Definitely good with fish and chips, at any rate

I have some, I don't remember where I got it from but keep your eyes open.  I think it's the Braille brand

[HappyHax0r]

You can get malt vinegar at the superstore. Look down below the balsamic/white/cider

[fakr]

Mmmmm, strong balsamic vinegar flavor....sounds delicious!

Hmmm, I don't seem to have a "vomit" smily to choose from....

[HappyHax0r]

Balsamic vinegar plays off the taste of raspberries extremely well.

[jamie_savoie]

so last night I tried the Duchesse, here's my comments on it:
Ruby red color, tan head that dissipate.  Aroma I got a little sour/funk, some sweetness, cherries and plums.   Mouthfeel was sweet, sparkling wine-ish up front and finishing tart/sour and very dry.  Kinda green apple sour.  Taste: I got cherries, raspberries, caramel, and oak in the back.
Overall:  I thought it was a little too sweet for my taste and not as sour I thought it would be.  Still a good sour and a good candidate for someone new to the style.

[Richard]

Er, I'm guessing the one you had was young? Try one at the G for comparison. The one I had was a malt-vinegar-splosion

[jamie_savoie]

Er, I'm guessing the one you had was young? Try one at the G for comparison. The one I had was a malt-vinegar-splosion

yeah from what I've been reading the sournest differ from batch to batch.  I forgot to check the bottle date so probablly you're right and it's still young.  I have another bottle, if it's the same date I will cellar it for several months to see if the sourness improve with aging

[jamie_savoie]

also it's filtered (no dregs) so I wonder if it's really going to improve alot.  we'll see I guess

[TomFogarty]

It's difficult to tell with these open vat fermentation beers, they never seem to turn out quite the same... Tried another similar one the other day; Bourgogne des Flandres. I actually enjoyed it far more than Duchesse. Not quite sure where to get more though.

[fakr]

I had one last night and it was pretty much malt vinegar through and through.

I did plug my nose during a couple of sips and noticed that without the vinegar blast in the nose, the fruity flavors came out more, as well as the sweetness.
After finishing the bottle, I burped, and it tasted very fruity, no matl vinegar taste at all.  Had to add that.

I would put this on my fish and chips.

[jamie_savoie]

Since the last time I posted, I've tried 2 other duchesse bought from 2 diff places.   One was similar to the ones I had previously, the other was unquestionably sourer.  From my experience so far, expiration dates also don't seem to matter because the really sour one was dated the furthest away (2014) and the less sour were dated 2013.  I find it really odd that there's ALOT inconsistency between bottles (since it's pasteurized) and that the really sour one was the "fresher" of the 4 I had so far.  I would've thought that since it's pasteurized the flavour wouldn't change (much)

Tom: is Bourgogne des Flandres backsweetened like Duchesse?

[Richard]

I think Mr Fogarty already figured out that one... if they're using open-vat innoculation rather than a specific culture source, the blend is going to be different month-month. Maintaining a balance in a blended culture is pretty damned difficult too without a very large culture that's been stabilised over several generations of beer.

My lambic is still sitting there, aging away. Can't wait to try it again in another few months

[TomFogarty]

Not quite sure about the backsweetening... I didn't know they did that with Duchesse

Can't wait to have some more of your lambic, Richard. Maybe I'll share one of my Cantillons at some point; I was able to snag 4 magnums of it! We must re-culture some bacteria