Sour fans can’t say enough great things about Duchesse. It’s the unofficial “if you’ve never tried a Sour Ale, you need to start with this” beer. 

Duchesse is made in the West-Flanders region of Belgium with non-traditional top-fermentation to deliver Sour Ale royalty with the essence of cherry pie, jammy red wine, and rustic oak. 

Its unique, oaky-tart cherry flavor comes from a 100% natural and unpasteurized blend of 8 and 18-month Old Ales that were combined and then aged in oak casks. This timely process and the crafty hands at the adored brewery Verhaeghe are what propelled Duchesse to being named one of the 10 Best Sours in the World by The Independent. 

But we’re not bringing you the classic Duchesse that you’ve likely seen in many shops before. Oh no, you can pair that one with Netflix and a Trader Joe’s frozen dinner any night.

Today’s Duchesse Chocolate Cherry should be reserved for a very special moment. 

One can’t just pop open such extravagant notes of bright pie cherries, woody vanilla, and bittersweet dark chocolate as these on a whim.

This is one of the top-rated Sours in the world, and it’s been dunked in fudge, for crying out loud! You better be celebrating a birthday, an anniversary, or your 1,000th beer check-in when you dive into this one! 

Rated a 4.09 on Untappd; 90/100 on BeerAdvocate