Hoegaarden

Brewed by Brouwerij Hoegaarden (InBev)
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Hoegaarden, Belgium

330ml bottle. (BB12/06). Unfiltered. Light yellow, hazy colour. Aroma of banana. Coriander and sweet, light banana flavours. Citric refreshment. Short in aftertaste.

33 cl. Pours aever so slightly hazy lemony yellow with a towering fluffy platinum blonde head that looks and behaves like beaten egg whites. As a matter of fact, I am still waiting to take my first sip, and I am amusing myself while I wait by starting in on the review. There’s a lovely crisp lemon and grass business on the nose. There’s also a lot of head between me and my beer. I would like some beer now. Eh. It’s Hoegaarden. You’ve had it a million times. Sweet lemon, grass. Slightly creamy, maybe ever so slightly watery. Not much carb. Grassy notes. Spices are almost non-existent, but, then, coriander and orange peel are probably the next agricultural commodities to shoot through the pricing roof in the beer business. They’ve been done more intenesely by now than Hoegaarden’s been doing them. Still, this is a lovely, refreshing, drinkable little beer. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. If you can wait.

Mild wheat smell, opaque yellow. Tastes nicely bitter, soft spicey flavour. Very good.

On tap at Tampa Bay Brewing Co. Hazy yellow color with white head. Spicy-yeasty-wheat aroma. The taste was fruity then dry wheat then a bit of tart-sourness. Really refreshing brew for a hot summer day.

Best of its style. I suspect that this beer gets lower marks from other raters than it should because it's so readily available. If it were only available in some remote Belgian village, we'd all be posting on the forum about how it rates a 4.6 and is 'vinous' with a 'coriander and curacao' note. But it's readily available, so it merits a 3.7, which is a crime, IMHO. Having tasted it head-to-head against both Victory's Whirlwind and Boulevard's Zon, I've got a newfound appreciation for this remarkable wit. The champ! Isn't there some 60's song that went "I beg your pardon / I never promised you a Hoegaarden" ?

Aroma is sweet orange, wheat, and white grape juice. Pours a white yellow color that is unfiltered. Flavor is mostly straight up smooth wheat with the afformentioned subtle orange and corriander flavor. Velvetty smooth on the palate. Good. My favorite Belgian Wit beer.

Bouteille de 330 ml. Arôme: Odeur d’agrumes et d’anis. Apparence: Couleur paille pâle opaque. Moyen col mousseux qui perdure. Faible carbonisation. Fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’agrumes et d’épices. Durée de l’arrière goût moyenne. Palette: Corps et texture mince. Carbonisation moyenne. Arrière goût de citron. (Rating #93)

Draught at the Belgian Cafe in Perth. Lemonade-yellow, very hazy, creamy white head with nice lace. Slightly sweet aroma, light and refreshing palate with some faint zesty citrus and notes of vanilla and cardamom spice. I could drink this aaaallllll night! I think draught is better than bottle (not a surprise).