Duchess De Bridgeport
Marz Community Brewing

 

With one foot in the windy city and the other in an oaken flanders vat, a sour, woodsy and fruit filled flavor emerges with a savory, sweet, sour and spicy variety to enliven each and every taste bud on the tongue.

Marz's Duchess de Bridgeport pops on the nose with a brisk cherry and balsamic melange. Peppery, oaky and candied, its scent precedes a dark garnet austere with a frothy blanket of bubbliness. Candied sweetness layers on the tongue with dried black cherry, rum cake and simple toffee.

As the ale trends piquantly sour, its malty base begin to break up and a refreshing fruit and spice combination grips hold of the palate. Dark cherry, dark grape, plum, blackberry, currant, strawberry and dates frame a savory, earhty and slight tar-like taste. With the fragile malt structures still holding strong, a sense of hard candy and cake balance a peppercorn, oak spice and sharp balsamic acidity to close the session.

Bright in taste but dark in color, the beer's stubborn maltiness allows the beer to take on a taste of rootbeer and horehound with a slight finish of licorice and sarsaparilla to accompany the taste and texture of full bodied cabernet, cider and oak aged vinegar even late in the throat. An aftertaste of balsamic and spice cake is medium in length but medium bodied and only medium dry.

 

Served in a chalice. This pours a fairly dark garnet or burgundy color. There is a decent head which fades quickly to lacing.

There was a pretty muted aroma upon my first pour, but it opens up as it warms. It is malty and sweet, with notes of caramel. There is an underlying tartness and earthiness.

The taste is a decently tart red ale. It's tart, with earthy funk. There is a caramel maltiness and some dried fruits. The acidity is mostly lactic, no acetic. Compared to some of the well respected beers of the style, this is a little underwhelming and not super complex.

The mouthfeel is good. Sort of dry, but it fits well.

Overall, this was a fine beer. I'd drink it again, but might not go out of my way to get it. It's not really a Flanders Red, more of a soured red ale. It's lacking the oak, acetic character, and complexity I associate with the style.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap. Poured a clear, reddish color with golden highlights and a small, off-white head of foam. It smelled of dried dark fruits, tart lemon and maltiness. Tart bite up front with dried dark fruit and toasted caramel.

750 ml bottle, no bottled on date present. My first beer from Marz Community Brewing, a self-proclaimed 'sour red ale'. 6.30% abv listed on the bottle. Gold waxed cap.

Poured into a Unibroue La Fin Du Monde tulip glass.

A - It pours a nice garnet red colored body with two to three fingers of fluffy off-white head that doesn't stay long. Some moderate scattered strands of fluffy lacing. Looks alright.

S - The aroma is pretty bland. A soft fruitiness dominates. Lightly sugary. Some traditional red / amber malt content is noticeable. Some type of clove spice? I'm not sure. Strange, and open to interpretation.

T - Good sour / tartness. Bacterial and yeasty on the finish. Notes of fruity mixed berries.

M - Feel is crisp, clean, tart, & dry. Carbonation could stand to be amped up just a tad. Easy-drinking stuff, nonetheless.

Overall, not quite the traditional Flanders red, more of an American sour, but I'd say it hits it's mark.

Marz Community Brewing Duchess De Bridgeport -----3.5/5

 

 

 

 

A very nice Flanders Red, reminds me of Monks. It could benefit from just a little more tartness and carbonation.