Duchesse de Bourgogne

 

          With the popularity of sour ale these days, I thought it would be prudent to make my first foray into the world of sour beer. In doing so, I picked a Flanders Red Ale, a style of beer that’s been on my radar for a while, but I’ve just never pulled the trigger on. As the name suggests, Flanders Red Ale comes from the west Flanders region of Belgium. This beer is traditionally aged in wood barrels for up to two years. It is these barrels that provide the organisms necessary to give the beer its sourness.

It’s a combination of barrel aging and blending of younger and older batches that helps provide the style’s complex flavors. Flanders Red Ale is also fermented partly with lactobacillus, contributing to the beer’s overall tartness. The combination of brewing organisms and barrel aging makes the Flanders Red Ale a historic beer style. What this means is that this is a style of beer that is fermented in a fashion similar to the days before we discovered the existence of yeast and its role in fermentation. Duchesse de Bourgogne is crystal clear, and a deep, almost sullen, ruby colored ale. The head is dense, a very light tan color, and incredibly lasting.

          Aromas of wood are what I notice first. Beyond that, the nose is robust, complex, also smooth and enticing. In addition to aromas of wood I’m picking up notable fruit esters. In particular, I can smell ripe cherries and other ripe, pitted fruit. Interestingly, I can also smell notes of vanilla. Subtle as it is, vanilla coupled with aromas of wood keep the fruit aromas from dominating or overpowering. And yet, the fruit esters have enough tartness to prevent the nose from being overly sweet.

          Taking a sip, Duchesse de Bourgogne is smooth and enjoys up front flavors of tart ripe fruit. Fruit flavors taste like a combination of ripe, dark red cherries combined with supporting flavors of lemonade. This is all supported and by flavors of wood and vanilla, helping to smooth out the beer’s overall tartness. At this point, I taste something akin to red grapes, adding to the complexity and depth of this Flanders Red Ale. Flavors of multiple ripe fruit combined with vanilla and oak give Duchesse de Bourgogne an impressive, vinous quality.

          Duchesse de Bourgogne is easily an 8.5 out of 10. It boasts a gentle tartness, flavors of ripe fruit, and an overall vinous quality making it a wonderfully complex drinking experience. The barrel aging process impart flavors of wood and vanilla that give the beer an overall sense of structure. Barrel aging also prevents the fruit flavors from dominating the beer. What helps make this beer so impressive to me is that with all of Duchesse de Bourgogne’s vinous complexity, it’s remarkably accessible. Which is to say that if you’ve never had a Flanders Red Ale before, this would be an excellent example to cut your teeth on.