by Brouwerij Hoegaarden (AB-InBev)
I’m sure many people have tried this beer before, but it is time to introduce to those who haven’t, a true Belgian classic.
The town of Hoegaarden was known for producing witbiers for centuries, but the popularity of the beer was in decline after the World Wars. Hoegaarden (the town) had 13 different witbier-producing breweries of its own at one time, but by 1957 the last brewery in the town closed its doors for good.
Pierre Celis was a local milkman who, saddened by the loss of the town’s breweries decided to start up his own brewery in the late 1960’s. It was called de Kluis.
He is credited with saving this beer style from disappearing in the history books, and after brewing his witbier in the hay loft of his property for more than a decade, he moved to bigger premises in the 1980;s and subsequently sold his brewery to Interbrew (later to marge and become AB-InBev) in 1985. Celis moved to the US to continue brewing his witbiers after setting up the Celis Brewery in Texas.
The beer is a cloudy straw colour with a strong aroma of orange citrus, coriander and lots of banana in the yeast. Slightly sweet up front, the beer is light and crisp with malt backbone made of 60% barley malt and 40% wheat. Those orange citrus notes from the Curacao orange peel are there, with a zesty herbal zing from the coriander and yeast. It finishes reasonably dry and is super-refreshing even if the aftertaste doesn’t last so long.
Witbier with grapefruit and orange zest, kaffir lime leaves and coriander
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This traditional Witbier has been developed in cooperation with Master Brewer Pierre Celis, the Godfather of Hoegaarden.
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The 'Forbidden Fruit' is a delicious balance of ripe fruits, sweet malts, earthy hops and gentle spicing
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A classic Belgian Strong Golden Ale from the Hoegaarden brewery
