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Verhaeghe
 scrapes in
 decent
 good
 excellent
 sublime
Verhaeghe, Duchesse de Bourgogne (Belgium) 
This red ale has very similar qualities to Rodenbach, with a very sour profile. It is a blend of oak-aged and younger beers, and it's colour is a deep treacle with a chink of ruby. The head is foaming and off-white. On the nose there is a very powerful perfume of sour cherries and a wine-like, but almost vinegary quality. There's a hint of something unctuous and sweet too, and some spice and herbal notes. Some wild, almost animal nuances develop in a highly complex set of aromas. On the palate there is a thick, creamy texture and an astonishingly sweet attack, with intense fruity sweetness before that big, sour back-stop of underripe cherry and lemon takes a grip of the finish. Sweeter than Rodenbach, and perhaps a little more extravagent, it is a lovely sweet/sour beer and very distinctive. 6.2% ABV, 25cl, �1.49, Peckhams, Beerritz.  |  |
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