There are some beers that every beer lover should try sometime in their lives.

Today’s beer is one of them.

Duchesse de Bourgogne from Brouwerij Verhaeghe in Belgium is the most sought after Flanders Red Ale in the world. We have a limited number of these fantastic beers in rare 750 ml bottles.

Flander’s Red Ales are light bodied sour beers native to Belgium. Fermented with lactobacillus and traditionally aged in oak barrels, these beers are usually tart, sweet, and a little bit funky. Duchesse de Bourgogne is the definitive example of the style: a combination of red ales aged for 8 and 18 months in lacto-spiked oak barrels.

Duchesse pours a translucent brown with a red tint on the edges of the glass. It’s big, light head yields strong aromas of bright red fruit, oak, and red wine. The taste is tremendous. In the first few minutes after opening, expect big, bold flavors of tart balsamic vinegar on the front end, with a nice cherry, fruity middle and a bright sour finish. After resting in the glass a while, most of the sour vinegar notes fade and Duchesse releases even more complex flavors of lightly roasted malt, tannins, oak, and raspberries. Best served in a chalice glass at 45-55 degrees.

Vinegar may sound like an alarming flavor for a beer, but in Duchesse de Bourgogne the light touch of it makes perfect sense. Duchesse is one of those rare beers that are complex enough to hold up stranger flavors and still be incredibly drinkable. Each time you open a bottle of Duchesse, expect to notice something on your palate you never had before.

Veterans of the beer industry know just how amazing this beer is, but hearing about it from other people just isn’t enough. If you haven’t tasted it, here’s your chance to try it. If you have had this beer before, you are likely craving more. Duchesse maintains its flavor well and can be enjoyed for months to come.