Hoegaarden Verboden Vrucht

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

Bottle Conditioned. Blood orange red beer with a huge lasting head. This was the beer that got me into Belgian beers in the first place, it is big skinny fruit, orangey herby beer that is easy on he palate. Lovely tones of cripsness and sweeness at the same time. Always liked it always will.

Chestnut colour. Spicy aroma. Sweet and fruity on the palate. Some balancing bite and sharp notes on the finish. Cleaner than I expected. High alcohol content is unobtrusive. Not bad. Bottled, Hamprtons Wine Bar, London W1

Bottled. Large, creamy foam, slowly disappearing and glass sticking. Hazy orange-reddish colour. Initial volatile sweet fruity aroma (cherry, unripe plum) and citrussy (candied orange peel), then malt is more intense: toasted malt, nutty, caramel, honey, (vanilla), alcohol. Taste is sweet, candy sugar, sweet cherry, candied orange peel, (vanilla), weak "spicy" bitterness. Remind me the taste of Panettone, the typical Italian Christmas cake, made with a lot of candied orange peel and raisin. Medium body, oily texture, highly carbonated. A sweet one.

High carbonation - the beer tried to pour itself after I opened the bottle. Not the greatest head retention, kinda murky colour too. Plummy aroma, a bit of alcohol and chocolate malt with some lemon cordial in the back. Flavour is really quite nothingy, has no faults but no real positives either. Salty finish. I used to like this beer but the last few times I've had it it's been real boring. Oh yeah it hides the alcohol quite well. Usually I rate Belgians quite high in the appearance and palate criteria but this was really lacking in these areas - so it misses out on some easy points compared to its peers.

A deliciously moreish brew with a very complex aroma of spices, nutty malt, caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, iron, and a light yeastiness. It pours with an off-white rocky, frothy head that doesn't last through the tasting but has a fair amount of lacing. Its body is hazy in a dark reddy brown colour with its edges tinting yellow towards the end. It fills the mouth with sweet syrup and a lively carbonation, finishing long and sweet with a touch of bitterness, metallic astringency and hints at its 8.8% potency.

Their commercial description fits it best. Hoegaarden needs to stop making its weak stuff and go with this one.

Murky orange with a huge tan head. Musty aroma of wheat and coriander. Taste is a sour pear and wheat, with a somewhat off medicine flavor, but still a nice pear presence.

Huge frothy light brown head on a murky orangey brown copper colour. Aroma of apples, banana and malt. Smooth texture of spice plenty of fruit and some butterscotch. Alcohol shows itself but you don't know it is 8.8%! Overall a good beer. Cheers!