#105 – Duchesse de Bourgogne

#105 - Duchesse de Bourgogne

Size: 250 ml

ABV: 6.2 %

My third beer of the night, and something of a switch after two heavy tripels. I had heard a lot about the Duchess of Burgundy, and was served this one up by Andrew in its rightful glass. I had only possibly drunk two Belgian beers loosely named after a woman. One was a statue in a Park in Ostend (#43), and the other was a witch (#79). Surely here was a proper Belgian heroine?

Before my infatuation with Belgium I would often struggle to be able to name many famous Belgians, let alone a female one. I’m still trying to think of one now. Even TinTin and Asterix were completely male orientated! Ask any Belgian however, and many will point to the good Duchesse – and with good reason.

Mary of Burgundy was born at the Castle of Coudenburg in Brussels in 1457, to be the only child of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and his wife Isabella of Bourbon. She was instantly the heiress to a vast swathe of Burgundian land stretching from the Low Countries deep into France. She instantly became a hit with the fellas, even at the age of five when her hand was sought for the future Ferdinand II of Aragon. Later suitors included King Louis XI of France on behalf of his son, the Dauphin Charles. Mary managed to hold off the attention, although things came to a bit of a head in 1477 when her father infamously died at the Siege of Nancy. France suddenly saw an opportunity to secure the inheritance of the Low Countries through the union with the 19 year old Mary.

It is perhaps fair to say that the Duchesse de Bourgogne is so popular in the modern era due to her snubbing of the French. Later that year, she opted to take the hand of Archduke Maximilian* of Austria, aligning herself to the Hapsburgs and changing the fate of history for the Low Countries. What followed was about two hundred years of relative peace. The French were spurned, and civil strife was abated. It wasn’t something however that Mary could spend her later years looking back on fondly. Tragically just five years after marrying Maximilian she was thrown from her horse while falconing and trampled. It was to break her back and she survived no more than a few days. The artwork on the label is a famous Flemish portrait of Mary and her falcon photographed by Hugo Maertens.

The beer itself is a Flanders sour red ale with plenty of bite, which gets its unique flavour through a primary and secondary fermentation, followed by eighteen long months maturation in oak. The final mix is then blended with a younger eight month beer. Its well worth the wait, but like anything in 250 ml bottles its over in the shake of a lambs tail.

* You may remember Maximilian from drinking Brugse Zot (#36) – he suggested that the people of Bruges were all mad fools !

#79 – Gribousine Brune de Malonne

#79 - Gribousine Brune de Malonne

Size: 330 ml

ABV: 8 %

The Gribousine Malonne beers are common to the Abbaye de Malonne (#14, #92) range in that they are distributed by the Brasserie de L’Abbaye de Malonne, although they are brewed by the La Binchoise brewery in Binche. While these beers may like to be associated with the purity and sanctity of an Abbey, it simply cannot mask the fact that these are actual homage beers to a legendary witch from Malonne – the one astride her broom on the label.

During the early 1800’s in Malonne, some strange occurrences were afflicting the local population. There were varied reports of cows suddenly being unable to produce any milk, strange nuts growing on trees and plants where previously impossible, and people finding themselves riddled with sudden unfortunate illnesses. The legend goes that an old lady living in a small isolated cottage on the edge of the forest was responsible for casting these bizarre spells on the natives – her name was Gribousine.

The witch, as she was known to all, filled the population with such fear, that the locals would avoid travelling anywhere near her cottage, and instead take diversions on other paths which would often add many miles to their journeys. This everyday routine continued for many years, with more mysterious curses being cast, and Gribousine becoming more and more isolated. Eventually as she grew old and unwell, she came to the local village and sought the help of Father Marchand, the local priest, to rid her of illness and cure her of her loneliness. The priest, along with local warden Francis Joseph Bacq took Gribousine into their care one long and troubled night, and between doses of herbal remedies, they performed a full-scale exorcism. Gribousine was never really accepted by the villagers following this, however the curses and afflictions suddenly abated, and nobody ever reported seeing her ride her broomstick again. The legend though of course has raged on in local history, so much so that they even named a range of beers after her.

The Gribousine Brune de Malonne is a strange one. Sometimes you can drink a beer that has a hint of confectionery, or perhaps an undertone of a drink you once tried as a child. This one however was straight from the Hansel and Gretel fairytale, in that it tasted virtually of a cross between Dr Pepper and Vimto, with the slight taste of beer to keep the adults happy. I can just imagine Gribousine standing on the edge of the forest luring children to her candy cottage with bottles of this stuff. This beer won some International Taste and Quality awards in 2008. I can only assume Gribousine had popped back for a bit of fun !