Written by A while ago, in my review of the truly awful ‘Elken Artois‘, I questioned the existence of other oak aged beers. What I meant to write was the existence of any other oak aged lagers. Belgium has a great tradition of producing rich oak-aged ales, such as the wonderful Rodenbach Grand Cru.
I first encountered Duchesse de Bourgogne (pronounced Dooshess de Burgoyne) on draught about seven years ago at the Great British Beer Festival, at that time my mate Jon and I voted it our favourite beer of the show! I confess it had quite slipped my mind (life does that to you sometimes) until I spotted it in a beer shop on my recent visit to Brussels. I bought a bottle to sample in controlled conditions at home, then found it the the Cafe Delirium bar to enjoy in situ. And enjoy it I did.
The beer itself is a traditional Belgian Red Ale, brewed in the Flanders town of Vichte to around 6.2% ABV. It’s double fermented and then aged in oak for around 18 months. The finished article is a blend of older and newer brews to provide a consistent flavour – much like the ‘gueze’ lambic beers of Belgium. The colour is a rich, dark garnet, with a trace of head; and the nose is slightly sour, again almost Lambic. We’re talking hints of Balsamic Vinegar – you get the drift – this is not a glass of the usual.
A few beer reviews ago, I described Thomas Hardy’s ale as what beers would be like when they grow up. Having become re-acquainted with this particular Duchess, THIS is what beers should aspire to! You’d want to spend an evening in the company of this Duchess, she’d be lively and stimulating company, in comparison ‘Thomas Hardy’ – older and opinionated… not someone you would want to spend too much time with.
And for information, the label depicts Mary of Burgundy, who died in the 15th century, she was much loved by her subjects (by all accounts) and died aged 25 while out falconning. The photo, taken at Cafe Delirium, also features the Cafe’s draught beer list – around 25 beers on draught at any time!
Four stars – a wonderful, wonderful beer.
Rating: 
Check out more of Bob the Brit’s other thoughts at Mallorn.net!
I absolutely love the Duchesse! Fantastic brew!
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Yeah, I’m definitely a big fan of this beer! If you like the subtle tartness, seek out Vichtenaar or Echte Kriekenbier (from the same producer as the Duchesse, Echte has cherries as well) as well as Rodenbach or Rodenbach Grand Cru, with the Grand Cru being more sour. Also Monk’s Cafe is a good example. Lastly, Cascade Brewing Co. from Portland, OR makes a couple cool beers in this style, some with fruit some without.
This is a great style of beer that can be quite delicious!
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Jeff, thanks again for popping in and making some excellent suggestions! Much appreciated!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Lindemans Framboise Raspberry Lambic =-.
I missed that you guys had reviewed this. I just reviewed it. I think I’m in love with it. I would pay double to try it on draught.
.-= nate´s last blog ..Duchesse de Bourgogne, Beer Fit For Royalty =-.
I heartily agree Nate, I love it, and would dearly love to savour it on draught again. I guess I should just count my blessings that I managed it once.
.-= Bob the Brit´s last blog ..Cotton Socks =-.
I love love love this beer. It sometimes gets put in the “sour beer” category, and it has a hint of sour, but it’s much more complex than that.
One of the most interesting, complex, and deep beers I can remember trying. It’s delicious at the same time. Like reading a Malcolm Gladwell essay that is really interesting, you learn a ton that you hadn’t known before, but also are enjoying yourself the whole time.
It reminds me of a wine with its complexity of flavor. The transition on the palate is pretty remarkable and worth trying the beer at least once, just for that.
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ah, a big “thumbs-up” and an amen to this. love the duchesse. i would add that, of the rodenbach offerings, the grand cru is gone one better by their vin de cereale, which i enjoyed on a visit to bruges 3 years back (a shout-out to my favorite pub, t’brugs bertje!). if u can find THAT, by al means give it a go. also, i agree with vichtenaar as another nice offering.
a nice thing about duchesse du bourgogne: in japan, where i live, it is possible to get ur paws on it now and again–in import stores as well as at belgian beer cafes in major metro areas such as tokyo.
cheers!
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@brian – Thanks for the comment! Cheers!
thanks, scott. i hopped in here for the first time, driven by a search for brewdog’s 18.2% tokyo offering. (they were serving it this week at a melbourne pub, biero, that i visited in february and still keep up with on facebook.)
i like your blog! always good to see good, enthusiastic work on a subject close to my heart (thanks to belgium!)… i’ll be coming through more often from now just to “whet my appetite” and slake my thirst at least virtually. i don’t often get out to a decent pub from where i live–out in the boonies–but there ARE some nice belgian beer cafes in tokyo and yokohama, and some good microbrew pubs, as well. if u don’t know them, popeye in tokyo is the most famous (and i haven’t been yet!), and there’s a cool place called thrashzone in yokohama that i would recommend. they go heavy on u.s. offerings from stone and the like (which a friend of mine imports). give it a google, man!
This truly is a beer worthy of royalty. I am surprised by the negative reviews of this beer on other sites, however this is truly a case of the beer’s taste being so complex and sophisticated that anyone who rates this beer anything less than an 11 out of 10 should not even be reviewing beer. Such people should just stick to drinking toilet water.
I have had the privlege of enjoying this beer in the company of the Viscount of Lower Saxony and his Second cousins, the last surviving sons of the Barony of the Transylvanian Saxons. They confided in me that this is the quaff of choice during the decannual mule deer hunt at their exclusive royal hunting reserve in the mountains of lower Silesia.
@The Macedonian – great story! I suppose if you’re the Viscount of Lower Saxony, you’ve got do drink something with more panache than say, Miller High Life.