Duchesse Petite
Brouwerij Verhaeghe

Pours a beautiful deep red, with minimal creamy foam. Smell is strongly sour cherry, a hint of dry oak, doesn't really smell like a beer. First flavor is sour, then fruity sweetness, almost apple more than cherry, and a little malt comes in to balance. The end of the taste lingers, more like a medium dry wine than a beer, but with a bit of vinegar. It ends much drier than the non-barrel aged version. Feel is smooth and very refreshing, with just enough carbonation to balance. Overall, this is a very tasty beer, if you like the sour fruit/vinegar palette.

 

 

 

 

Deep ruby red color with only minimal pinkish head.
The aroma is tart cherry with a hint of vinegar.
The taste is sour cherry up front, then a bit of apple cider blends in slightly sweet. The finish is dry with a touch of vinegar.
The body is light, moderate carbonation, crisp but also very smooth and drinkable.
Altogether, this seems more like wine than beer, something to be sipped and savored. The flavors are amazing, very pleasant, should go well with savory food, outstanding.

 

Nice Belgian sour. Dark amaretto cognac in color with a hefty reddish tinge in the light, very nice. No or minimal flash of a head. Aroma of dark fruit or amaretto. Sour in taste with a somewhat caramelized malty after taste in between notes of lemongrass, green apple, and barn. It's pretty solid.

Dark reddish brown in color. Very small white head. Nose is sour cherry or tart. Taste is part unripe apple or cherry. Backend is apple I feel. Very acidic, then dry finish.

330ml can from Boise Co-op. Amber pour, cloudy, small off-white bubbly head. Aroma is sour cherries, woody. Taste is tart cherries, oak, sweet. A bit more subdued than the Duchesse.

A: Pours a dark reddish/brown color. A dense beige head forms with good retention, and plenty of lace left behind.
S: Oh I love the aroma. Toasted malts, caramel apples, and sour cherries. A touch of oak aromas, and a wonderful acidity.
T: Caramelized apples, and sour cherries are the fruit flavors I get up front. Acidic and a touch vinegary for sure, but not overly so. There is a satisfying toasted malts, and oak flavor that balances the sweet and acidic elements really well, and makes it a touch more complex than I first expected.
M/O A lighter body for sure. Moderate to high carbonation, that is at first effervescent, but becomes ultra smooth. This is really inviting and enjoyable to drink. I can come back to this with ease.

Really well balanced, with lots of character, all in a low ABV package...yep this is what I like. The acidic sour notes blend perfectly with the malts, and it almost becomes like a dark cider...if there is such a thing. A well done example of the style of course, and just all around enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

Brown to amber with a fingernail of brown around the rim. There’s a murky complexion. The aroma is of tart cherries, barnyard funk, and a touch of vinegar. I’m tasting tart dark cherries, horse blanket, and dark malt. The mouth is dry and refreshing.

 

 

Poured from 330mL can into my BeerAdvocate teku.

Appearance: rich, beautiful deep-red hue, with a finger of frothy tan foam atop. Very enticing indeed!

Smell: lightly sour with a sweet caramel malt underneath. Maybe not the candylike richness of the full-strength stuff, but still very nice.

Taste: sour, but not crazily so, with a nicely sweet caramel malt. It lacks some of the more subtle complexity of the original, but still, this is a very tasty beer.

Mouthfeel: light body with a big carbonation and a decent creaminess.

Overall: this is a wonderfully drinkable, tasty delight, and I love that there's a table-strength Duchesse out in the world.