Hoegaarden Verboden Vrucht

Brewed by Brouwerij Hoegaarden (InBev)
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Hoegaarden, Belgium

A brilliant ’chewy’ beer. Very good for drinking in those cold winter nights.

Rerate 29/8/6: Spicy Belgian strong ale. Bottle-conditioned, poured a muddy auburn colour. Good lacing 2cm head. Big malty nose - some dark fruit, quince paste and spice. Full-bodied, sweet and warming, with rich mocha chocolate and long yeasty notes. A decent winter warmer. 鶊ml bottle)

Poured orangey brown with a medium fading to thin but longlasting tan head...smell is sweet with orange and yeast...taste is sweet up front turning to an unpleasant bitterness...finish mildly alcoholic and poorly bitter...

Didn’t know what to expect of this one, after Interbrew (InBev) had stuck it’s clammy hands all over it. Hoegaarden’s Wit is now a mere spectre of it’s original form, so I was hesitant at first!!! Took (a 1 year old) out of the fridge and allowed it to cool for a while, before twirling and pouring it into a Cognac chalice. Yeast clumps floated about an obscure mahogany-orange body. Fine carbonation did it’s job to hold up a magnificent two-layered head, that laced brilliantly down the glass. Aroma was sweet and very spicy, with citrus and stone fruit notes. Palate was pleasantly filled, with good length and good warmth. Flavours of vanilla, roasted grain and plenty of citric acidity, led through to a treacle, port like aftertaste. All made for a decent dessert-style Ale. Surprisingly nice drop, considering!!

A murky beer of a burnt mid-brown colour, it has a large and mostly lasting beige head and a great deal of fine carbonation. The overwhelming aromas are malt and citrus carried into the flavour which is also spicy and slightly bitter. The beer is spoilt by its immediate aftertaste which is metallic and bitter but this does mellow while it lingers. Overall it is not one I’ll bother with again by choice.

A spicy, yeasty, direct brew with definite alcohol warmth on the tongue. Gorgeous it is too, resembling a bright red dawn when putting the glass directly in front of a source of light. I personally thrive on coriander, but that certain spiciness might be too much in yer face for some. Quite nice, but I prefer the Grand Cru to this most times. Today, though, I’m just in the mood for something forbidden...

Sweet, malty, marzipan, cookie dough aroma is pleasant if simple. Some underlying meatiness. Opaque amber-brown with fine-bubbled, off-white/tan head that recedes to cover with no lacing. Fair bitterness and a pretty bland sweetness characterize the seemingly oxidized almost paper-like flavour. Quite still and unappealing. Bottle (Best Before 02/06) sampled with MartinT and Rastacouere.

Deep orange-brown. Generous beige head. Unexpected substantial nose though I can’t say how pleasant it is. It presents an almost smoky component alike smoked ham all the while having this cherry fruitiness and woody coriander spicy profile. It all blends into an ineffective and plain palate where potentially fatiguing sweetness is poorly balanced by a dirty dry yeast that comes out almost cardboardish, highly bitter finish. Faint woodiness. Light body and high carbonation barely sever the growing astringency from sips to sips.