Duchessa | Birra Del Borgo
Brewed by:
Birra Del Borgo
Italy
birradelborgo.it
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.80%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by bishopdc0 on 08-22-2011
Ratings: 83 | Reviews: 32
4.03/5 rDev +9.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Birra Del Borgo "Duchessa"
on tap @ Open Baladin, Roma, Italia on 29 November 2015
€5 / glass
Notes: Mostly clear (it's unfiltered) golden-amber beneath a short head of creamy white. Good retention with better than average lacing. Aroma is yeasty, fruity (lemon, apricot, orange), and gently floral and spicy. The flavor displays sweetish malt with brighter citrus and a stronger spiciness that includes black pepper and some herbal character. This is a spelt beer but I don't really find that. It's bready, and sweetish, and perhaps a bit honeyish and then subtly tart and slightly woody but it's hard to tell what's coming from where. It's firmly bitter and the malt over-rides it at first, but the spice and subtle acidity help to balance it and bring it to a dry, peppery, and herbal finish. Medium to medium-light in body with a very fine-bubbled, delicately effervescent carbonation. Pleasant and enjoyable, it's actually more basic than it sounds here.
963 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Birra Del Borgo "Duchessa"
on tap @ Open Baladin, Roma, Italia on 29 November 2015
€5 / glass
Notes: Mostly clear (it's unfiltered) golden-amber beneath a short head of creamy white. Good retention with better than average lacing. Aroma is yeasty, fruity (lemon, apricot, orange), and gently floral and spicy. The flavor displays sweetish malt with brighter citrus and a stronger spiciness that includes black pepper and some herbal character. This is a spelt beer but I don't really find that. It's bready, and sweetish, and perhaps a bit honeyish and then subtly tart and slightly woody but it's hard to tell what's coming from where. It's firmly bitter and the malt over-rides it at first, but the spice and subtle acidity help to balance it and bring it to a dry, peppery, and herbal finish. Medium to medium-light in body with a very fine-bubbled, delicately effervescent carbonation. Pleasant and enjoyable, it's actually more basic than it sounds here.
963 characters
3.75/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On-tap served in a stemmed glass at Mikkeller Bangkok.
L:
Slight hazy golden orange in color, it tops with thick creamy head that stays with decent retention before sinking to some bubble film atop and leaving lots of lacing patch on the glass-side.
S:
Funky, peppery, floral, light honey, fruity yeast in kind of banana, pineapple, orange, and tropical fruit. Bread and biscuit malt in the background.
T:
Some sourness and tartness in the lead, then it is some funkiness and fruitiness of lime, orange, and pineapple. Some peppery spice in the middle together with a little sweet bready malt undertone. Hop is a bit hidden with some earthy touch.
F:
Medium body, crisp with lively carbonation, rather smooth mouthfeel, very dry finish.
O:
Pretty good Saison, no ground-breaking.
784 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On-tap served in a stemmed glass at Mikkeller Bangkok.
L:
Slight hazy golden orange in color, it tops with thick creamy head that stays with decent retention before sinking to some bubble film atop and leaving lots of lacing patch on the glass-side.
S:
Funky, peppery, floral, light honey, fruity yeast in kind of banana, pineapple, orange, and tropical fruit. Bread and biscuit malt in the background.
T:
Some sourness and tartness in the lead, then it is some funkiness and fruitiness of lime, orange, and pineapple. Some peppery spice in the middle together with a little sweet bready malt undertone. Hop is a bit hidden with some earthy touch.
F:
Medium body, crisp with lively carbonation, rather smooth mouthfeel, very dry finish.
O:
Pretty good Saison, no ground-breaking.
784 characters
4.04/5 rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured from a recently purchased 11.2 oz undated bottle into the modified tulip glass.
A - Satin wood yellow, huge carbonation, aggressive, cap is white and towering.
S - Musty, lemon rind, and dusty basement. Cut flowers and a bit of honey. Really nice.
T - Semi sweet grains, a bit of cheese rind, and again hints of must, calcium and salinity.
M - Stays in a narrow band, cheese rind, and marmalade.
O - So glad to have tried this, Similar to Blaugies spelt saison.
Worth seeking out
486 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured from a recently purchased 11.2 oz undated bottle into the modified tulip glass.
A - Satin wood yellow, huge carbonation, aggressive, cap is white and towering.
S - Musty, lemon rind, and dusty basement. Cut flowers and a bit of honey. Really nice.
T - Semi sweet grains, a bit of cheese rind, and again hints of must, calcium and salinity.
M - Stays in a narrow band, cheese rind, and marmalade.
O - So glad to have tried this, Similar to Blaugies spelt saison.
Worth seeking out
486 characters
3.71/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
2.81/5 rDev -23.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
3.53/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.33/5 rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
11.1 oz (33cl)Bottle from Boise Co-op. Poured into Duvel tulip, lazy carbonation, suspended particulates, thickish body. Deep golden cloudy pour, smallest of heads. Floral herbal aroma, some cheese, some mustiness. Graininess in the taste, close to a witbier, but I think it is the alternate grain (spelt) which is driving this beer's character. I've had this style before in Germany. spelt is an ancient food grain.
416 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
11.1 oz (33cl)Bottle from Boise Co-op. Poured into Duvel tulip, lazy carbonation, suspended particulates, thickish body. Deep golden cloudy pour, smallest of heads. Floral herbal aroma, some cheese, some mustiness. Graininess in the taste, close to a witbier, but I think it is the alternate grain (spelt) which is driving this beer's character. I've had this style before in Germany. spelt is an ancient food grain.
416 characters
3.83/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
4.39/5 rDev +19.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Love this funky, earthy but quaffable beer. It's nose is filled with spice and straw and the initial taste hints at yeast and farmyard. Fruit comes through in a subtle but pleasant finish.
188 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Love this funky, earthy but quaffable beer. It's nose is filled with spice and straw and the initial taste hints at yeast and farmyard. Fruit comes through in a subtle but pleasant finish.
188 characters
3.17/5 rDev -13.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.95/5 rDev +7.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
3.59/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.73/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.45/5 rDev -6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.79/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Duchessa from Birra Del Borgo
3.67
out of 5
based on 83 ratings.
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Color is fine. Aroma has some hay / grass but very heavy on the loam smell. Flavor follows suit with a little lemon and grass but lots of soap / loam, pretty watery too
168 characters