Introducing the Duchesse & Her Sisters
At the end of August and into early September, our Beer Buyer Extraordinaire, Sam Hopkins, and I were privileged to be invited on a tour of Belgium and several iconic Belgian Breweries by our good friends at D&V International Importers.
Our trip took us from Brussels to Liege to Bruges to Watou to Mont des Cats to Westvleteren to Vichte to Gent and back to Brussels. I will offer several posts in the weeks ahead about this iconic trip, the breweries we visited and the great beers we enjoyed.
My first post is an opportunity to introduce you to Duchesse de Bourgogne a Flemish Red Ale brewed by Verhaege Brewery in Vichte, Belgium.
Verhaeghe Brewery
Our visit to Vichte occurred about halfway through our tour of Belgium, but we took a curious detour before visiting the brewery.
St. Arnoldus Park
St. Arnold is recognized by the Catholic Church as the patron saint of brewers and hop-pickers. About 1,000 years ago, it was St. Arnold, who encouraged local peasants to drink beer instead of water because of its healthy qualities. Since water can get contaminated with bacteria, beer consumption was a much safer option.
St. Arnold Chapel
This park honors his life with a chapel, trails, beautiful trees, ponds and wildflowers.
St. Arnoldus Park
The primary feature of the park, outside of the chapel, is a natural spring whose waters have alleged powers to heal. Local legends, as well, tell that brewers would collect some water from the spring to put in their newest batches of beer for good luck and the blessings of St. Arnold.
The natural spring at St. Arnoldus park with our tour guide, Mogana Verhaeghe
Within the chapel there is a relic of St. Arnold - supposedly a leg bone.
Relic of St. Arnoldus
Verhaeghe Brewery
The world renowned Verhaeghe Brewery, in Vichte, Belgium, is the last independent and family-owned brewery that brews Flanders Red Ale. The brewery is currently operated by fifth-generation family members of the original brewer Paul Verhaeghe. Five family members currently work at the brewery.
The old Verhaeghe Brewery Building (portions still used for various purposes today)
Duchesse des Borgogne (translated to Duchess of Burgundy) is their flagship brew which has both sweet and sour elements and is, in my opinion, one of the best Belgian sour brews in the world. For those new to the complexities of a Belgian Sour, this beer can prove either very off-putting, at first, or an absolute delight.
Many years ago, when I was first being introduced to Belgian ales, I was drinking a lot of heavy Belgian Dark Ales, Belgian Tripels, Wits and Blonde Ales. Somehow, sour ales avoided my detection. Then one day, I picked up a big 750ml bottle of Duchesse des Bourgogne. When I first tried it, I thought it had gone bad! It was sour and had hints of vinegar. I was naïve and did not understand, at time, the treasure that I had before me. Over the years my appreciation for this iconic brew would only grow into pure admiration.
The process of perfecting this brew is rather extensive, as the beer is aged in oak casks for months. Then two versions of the aged brew are blended - one younger version (aged about six months) and one elder version (aged 12 to 18 months). There is only one master brewer at Verhaeghe, and he has years and years of experience tasting and blending the brews to create a consistent masterpiece time and time again. We were told it takes at least 10 years to master the brewing process. The master brewer’s protégé has about eight more years ahead of him to complete the mastering process.
The Foeder Room at Verhaeghe Brewery
On our visit, we were treated to an exclusive lunch, hosted in the Verhaeghe Foeder room - quite possibly the most notable beer barrel aging room in the world.
Private Lunch in the Verhaeghe Foeder Room
There are three additional variations of Duchesse…
Duchesse Cherry - this is the traditional Duchesse aged on real sour cherries (no flavorings or extracts). It was previously named Echt Kreikenbier.
Duchesse Chocolate Cherry - same as above, but with chocolate added.
Duchesse Red - my personal favorite. The traditional Duchesse aged on real sweet cherries.
Duchesse Cherry at the Verhaeghe Taproom
A little bit of history…
Duchesse de Bourgogne is named after Duchess Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482). She inherited a large kingdom at the age of 19 only to die at age 25 after a tragic horse accident. She is now considered the Princess Diana of her time. The legend is told that her fiancé, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, gifted her with a diamond ring to signify she was engaged to be his wife - and this is where the tradition of engagement rings comes from. The top of the cork cage on some Duchesse 750ml bottles has the shape of a diamond on it to signify this tradition.
Mary of Burgundy
Cheers,
Rob Jacik (President & Owner Carolina Beer Temple)