Duchesse de Bourgogne Ale

source

Lats Friday I went out to lunch with my sweetheart and our friend.  We went to a wing place called Smoke Eaters across the street from my work. The boys got wings while I got a veggie burger. In addition to awesome hot sauces, it also has a decent selection of draft and bottled beers. I decided to go for something new and I liked the regal title of this beer: Duchesse Ale.

Duchesse de Bourgogne Ale is a Flemish-style red ale from Brewery Verhaeghe.  The beer is named after Mary of Burgundy, a beloved Belgian Princess in the 15th century who died in a tragic accident. I would give your more information about the beer or the brewery, but everything else I can find is in Flemish or German.

The beer itself is interesting. It kind of reminded me of alcoholic soda---but I liked it. It is a blend of a young and old beer, both of which where fermented in oak. This gives the beer a little bit of sour taste. It has passionfruit and chocolate, which makes it fruity and rich at the same time too. This is an unusual beer, but definitely drinkable.  This would go nicely with a heartier meal and something less spicy than  nuclear hot sauce fries.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchesse_de_Bourgogne_(beer)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brouwerij_Verhaeghe