Duchesse De Bourgogne Beer Review

Duchesse De Bourgogne is a red brown ale from Belgian brewery Brouwerij Verhaeghe which history of brewing dates back to 1885. This mixed fermentation beer matures in wooden casks and weighs in at 6.2% ABV. But, is it any good?

In my opinion Duchesse De Bourgogne is an acquired taste, which is a taste I am yet to acquire. It pours a dark brown with a red hue and a half finger off white head. The nose is potent with a strong fruity scent, but not much else. As for the taste, it hits you with a sweetness that is hard to stand, like a strong sherry on steroids. I’m not keen, it gets a rate my beer score of 1 out of 5.

It is more like a strong dessert wine than a beer.

Table Of Contents

Duchesse De Bourgogne Beer Review

Duchesse De Bourgogne stands in a slim 330ml brown bottle with a picture of the Duchess of Burgundy on the label. This beer is a mixed fermentation beer that is then matured in oak casks for around 18 months.

It is described as ‘The One And Only’ and is a West-Flemish red brown ale. It sounds good on paper, and I do like a dark beer, so I am up for this one.

Time to get it into the glass.

It pours a deep brown with an off white head which does fade fast. Hold it up to the light and there is a dark red hue, it looks good.

The nose is pretty potent, lots of fruity notes with stand outs of dates and prunes. There is a slight dank smell with an alcohol background. It almost smells like a strong sherry, it is describe as a sweet beer, and you can smell that sweetness.

In for a taste and the sweetness hits you like a truck, there is not bitterness at all to counterbalance all that sweetness. It is definitely a fruity beer with a slight acidic twist, but it has nothing else. If you were drinking it blind, then you would not class it as a beer, more a sweet dessert wine or strong sherry.

For me it is just too sweet with a vinegar like acidity, it looks good, but doesn’t smell or taste good. I hate to score a beer down, but I just don’t like it. Duchesse De Bourgogne does remind me of a sour Lambic, but more powerful. It gets a 1 out of 5, and the 1 is just for the looks, because it does look good in the glass.

M’Lady isn’t keen either, simply saying “I don’t like it, I like sweet, but this is way too sweet. Just a disappointment, not a nice beer for me.” Lou scores it 0.5 out of 5.

Oh dear, that’s all I can say, sorry Brouwerij Verhaeghe.

If you like very sweet fruity drinks, then you might like Duchesse De Bourgogne, otherwise swerve it.

Brouwerij Verhaeghe Vichte

Brewery Verhaeghe Vichte was founded by Paul Verhaeghe and dates back to 1885, a small family run business in West Flanders, Belgium.

The brewery actually got dismantled by the Germans during the World War One. Having to rebuild not only the brewery, but its customers after the war.

Back in those days the brewery sold its beer locally in Belgium, but today they have a far wider reach.

Apart from the Duchesse De Bourgogne, what other beers do they produce?

Verhaeghe Beers

The brewery seem to have three ranges of beer, the Duchesse, Barbe and Streekbieren ranges. There are three beers in the Duchesse Range, four in the Barbe range and three in the Streekbieren range.

Here is a few of the beers that the brewery Verhaeghe brew, one from each range.

Duchesse Cherry

The Duchesse Cherry as you might of guessed is similar to the Duchesse De Bourgogne, but with cherry added. Once the beer is ready to be matured in wooden casks it has 20kg of Belgian cherries added per 100 litres of beer.

It is then stored in wooden casks and matured, the whole process takes around 2 years. The Duchesse Cherry is said to be sweet, fruity, refreshing with a bittersweet taste. I guess the fruity taste is cherries, no thank you.

It weighs in at 6.8% ABV

Barbe X

As the name suggest the Barbe X is from the breweries Barbe range of beers. This one is a 10% ABV Blond beer, so only the one then.

This golden blond beer is said to full bodied with a slightly fruity taste with a decent hoppy bitterness to finish. Which sounds good, until you find out it has Belgian honey in it.

That for me is a no no, I just don’t like honey in beer.

Verhaeghe Pils

Verhaeghe Pils is of course a golden Pilsner style beer. Brewed with Saaz hops it has a full malt flavour with a decent bitterness. Said to have a dry refreshing finish and aftertaste.

It weighs in at 5.1% ABV and sounds like a nice lager, the only one so far that I think I would like from Verhaeghe Brewery.

Final Thoughts

Well the Duchesse De Bourgogne red brown ale is not for me. way too sweet, and the Duchesse Cherry doesn’t sound up my street either.

However the Verhaeghe Pils does sound like something I would get on with. Having said all that, the brewery itself produces good quality beers, they are just mostly of styles I am not keen on.

But we all have a likes and dislikes, so if you like a fruit beer or a sour Lambic style beer, then you might like the Duchesse De Bourgogne and its cherry sister. So give them a try and leave your thoughts below.