by Brouwerij Verhaeghe

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!

 

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Country
Belgium
Alcohol
7.0%
Style
Flanders Red Ale
Size
330ml

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